


Back to Where We Started From

by songbirdkisses



Category: Hockey - Fandom, Men's Hockey RPF, Miracle (2004)
Genre: 1980 Olympics, 1980 olympic hockey, F/M, Hockey, Miracle, Miracle on Ice, Olympic Hockey, Olympics, USA Hockey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 31,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27519331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/songbirdkisses/pseuds/songbirdkisses
Summary: It's 1979, and Julia Brooks is living the high life as a rockstar in California. After a particularly crazy night, she is temporarily exiled back to the Twin Cities of Minnesota, where a certain Olympic hockey team is training.
Relationships: Jack O’Callahan/Original Character
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

Who doesn't hate this part? If, for some reason, you decide not to skip it, here's what you should know: 

1\. I've done a lot of research to make this story historically accurate, but I've also chosen to change some of that for the sake of the story. Artistic liberties, you know? Please feel free to point out any inaccuracies, although keep in mind it may have been a choice of mine. 

2\. I never thought this story would see the light of day, but here we are. Be nice please, but constructive criticism is welcome. I would really appreciate any feedback, even just so I know it's worth it to keep posting. 

3\. As far as the boys go, my characters are based more off the actors that portrayed them in the 2004 Disney movie. They were all very handsome in real life, but I can't deny the fact that in my head, they look like they do in the movie. 

4\. A lot of things will take place in this story that I don't condone! This story is certainly PG-13, and I'll give a warning if I think a chapter will get worse than that. I will warn you right now there will he mentions of/scenes of excessive drinking, partying, smoking, and drug use. There will be some language and some fighting (it is a hockey story, after all). 

5\. At the point of posting chapter 1, I've written about half of the story already, and most of the plot of is planned out. That doesn't mean I don't want to hear what you want to happen because I certainly do! 

6\. I suppose at this point, I'm rambling, so I'll stop that. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this little story of mine! This story was originally posted on Wattpad under the same name!


	2. Chapter 1

Julie huffed in annoyance as she stepped out of the airport in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She immediately noticed how much cleaner the air was here, as opposed to Los Angeles, where she had been living since she was 16. She pulled her sunglasses down onto her face as she hailed a taxi. She struggled with her luggage as the taxi driver pulled up beside her. 

"Need some help there?" The driver asked, exiting the car while trying to hide a laugh. 

No, I'll just get this all myself, Julie thought to herself, trying not to let her bad attitude show. 

She had overpacked a bit, to say the least. Two large suitcases, a carry-on suitcase, and her purse, but what was a girl to do when she had no idea how long she'd be away from home? The taxi driver loaded up her luggage before they both got in the car and headed off to the address she had given him. No one had been able to pick her up from the airport, which was fine. She wasn't quite ready to see her family, yet. She needed a few more minutes to prepare herself. The whole drive, she could feel the man looking at her in the rearview mirror. She wanted to snap at him, to tell him that yes, it was her, and to stop staring at her. To say that Julia Brooks was on edge was the understatement of the decade. Julie couldn't believe she was back in Minnesota. She was here totally against her own free will, and she was far from happy about it. She tapped her red nails against the door handle, her leg bouncing up and down. 

This is some terrible dream that I'm going to wake up from any second. 

She held her breath as the taxi pulled up in front of the ice arena. Julie felt like stomach was doing flip-flops. She paid the driver his fare, throwing in some extra for a tip and he helped her get her luggage out again. She tried to take all her stuff with her as she made her way to the doors, stopping every couple of seconds when she lost control of a suitcase and muttering a string of profanities. Right as she was about to open the door, it swung open from the inside. 

"Julia," a man said quietly as Julie dropped her carry-on again. 

Herb Brooks was a middle-aged man with a stern face and neatly combed brown hair. Julia noticed what he was wearing, a maroon tracksuit with USA on the front of it. Herb Brooks had been involved with hockey his entire life. After coaching the University of Minnesota hockey team for years, he had been named the head coach for the U.S. Olympic hockey team. Practices had begun not even a week ago. She looked up at him, once again holding her breath. Her blood felt like ice running through her veins. This was the first time she had seen him in almost a year, and the first time she had spoken to him in two weeks. Since her big accident. She waited for him to start screaming at her. After what felt like an eternity of silence, she decided he wasn't going to yell at her and finally decided to speak up. 

"Hi, Uncle Herb." 

Before either of them could say anything else, the doors swung open again, this time with a lot more noise. A group of three boys came streaming out the door, stopping when they saw the two of them.   
To be fair, Julie didn't really look like she belonged outside an ice rink in Minnesota. Her messy brown hair was in big, bouncy curls. She wore a fair bit of makeup, with her lips painted a deep red. Her Led Zeppelin t-shirt, leopard print pants, and black heeled boots were certainly not helping her blend in. The designer sunglasses pulled over face didn't make her look nice. The three boys stopped in shock, all three of them shocked for different reasons. 

Oh, here we go. 

"Julie?" She looked towards the voice and smiled slightly in relief at the boy who spoke her name. Phil Verchota.

Julie had to be honest with herself, there was one person she was not looking forward to seeing. Of course, here he was, one of the first people she saw, standing outside the doors next to Phil Verchota and an unknown man. She tried desperately not to get emotional at the sight of him, so she just chose not to look at him. Instead, she turned to Phil Verchota and the brunette beside him who was clearly confused.

"Hi, Phil."

"What are you doing here?" Phil asked, moving forward to give Julie a hug. She returned the hug, before pulling away and looking towards her uncle. The words that threatened to pour out of her mouth were stopped by the look on her uncle's face. 

"Boys, help my niece take her luggage to my car. I need to go talk to Coach Patrick."

And with that, her uncle handed her the car keys and went back inside the arena, leaving her standing there with the three boys. The unknown brunette boy smiled at her, before introducing himself as Mike Ramsey and picking up one of her suitcases. Phil picked up the other, and Julie started to follow them with her carry-on before a hand grabbed onto the handle of the bag. She looked up and there he was, the only one she didn't want to see, taking the luggage from her hand, while still avoiding eye contact.

"So, what's got you in Minnesota?" Mike asked her.

A lot of threats and screaming. My life and career being ripped from me. 

"Well, you see....everyone thought it would be best if I got out of California for awhile," she told them, walking to the car. Julie tried not to let any of the bitterness she was feeling drip into her voice. She was really understating it, but who had time for the truth?

"Got out? But you were dominating! Every time I turned on the radio or opened a magazine, there you were," Phil said as they approached the car, and she unlocked the trunk of her uncle's car. 

"I kind of got into some trouble and everyone thought I deserved to be shipped away to old Minnesota," she said flatly, shrugging her shoulders as the boys helped her load up the trunk. That seemed to be enough to satisfy them while the four of them finished situating the suitcases. Julie looked up to see her uncle walking towards them with his briefcase in hand. His face held that same stern look he always has around his players. Julie pitied herself, on account of how often she was going to be seeing that look.

"Oh, good lord, help me," she groaned quietly. She loved her uncle, she really did. Her uncle Herb was so fun when she was a little girl. He taught her how to skate, and the two of them used to take fishing trips in the summer. That was before she went and wrecked it all. Everything was going to be different now. Julie doubted they would spend much time fishing.

"Well, hey, we'd love to catch up. We were gonna go to Maureen's Diner tonight around 7 if you'd like to join us," Phil said as Mike shut the trunk. Mike and Phil stayed behind for a second, but of course the other boy was gone the minute he got the carry-on in the trunk. He hadn't even heard Phil invite her to Maureen's, which was probably a good thing.

"Yeah, maybe I'll meet you there," she smiled at them before they said their goodbyes and were on their way. The truth that she didn't want to tell them was that she didn't even know if she was allowed to go. She scoffed at how ridiculous that sounded. She was 21 years old, why would she need to seek permission to go to a diner with some friends? 

"See you tomorrow, boys," Herb called to them as he got into his car. She followed suit, getting in quietly and buckling her seatbelt. It was eerily quiet as he pulled out of the parking lot and started the drive towards his house.

"Not quite the reaction I expected from you and Mac. The two of you didn't even say hello," he pointed out, after a few minutes of silence. Julie knew this conversation was coming, and yet her stomach was still in knots.

"We got into an argument a couple of weeks ago. Haven't talked since," she shrugged, looking out the window. If she acted like it didn't matter, maybe it really wouldn't. 

"I know you got into it a couple weeks ago, and I know what it was about. And I think you need to talk to him. He's your best friend, Julia, and believe me, you're going to need a friend for the next couple of months."  
God help me if it's months. 

Julie nodded, trying not to let the tears well up in her eyes. She knew she had messed up, big time, and ruined her friendship with Rob McClanahan. Rob (or Mac, as he was sometimes known) had been her best friend since the two of them were eight years old. After recent events, she didn't think he was ever going to speak to her again. 

"Listen, Julia, I know you think that this is some prison sentence, but it's not. Everyone agrees that it's in your best interest. Your Aunt Patti and I don't want this to be an unpleasant experience for you, but you need to get yourself together. The partying is absolutely out of control. We've tried to let you be independent, but unfortunately that's a privilege you can't seem to handle. It's just that maybe you need to be a normal 21 year old girl for a little while. Maybe being back in Minnesota, around us, around Mac, will help you get a little more grounded."

Herb finished what he was saying right as they pulled up to his house. Julie tried not to sigh out loud at the tiny house. It had been years since she had been here, but she knew it wouldn't have changed a bit. She knew how it would smell when she walked inside, like pine trees and lemon-scented cleaning products. She was sure the furniture hadn't changed a bit. 

"Go inside and say hello to your aunt and cousins, I'll get your luggage." 

She did as she was told, slowly entering the house. 

"Hello?" She called out, setting her designer purse down on the table beside the front door.

"Is that my little Julie?" Julie heard her aunt Patti before she saw her round the corner, a huge smile on her face and her arms open wide. Julie hugged her tightly, breathing in the perfume Patii always wore, it was lavender, fresh and calming. Patti was a tall, thin woman with a blonde bob and pretty blue eyes. She was always put together, always caring for her family, and always friendly, until someone pissed her off. 

"Oh my goodness, you are so grown up! The pictures don't do it justice, you're a gorgeous young lady. Although you look a little thin, are you eating okay, honey?" Patti asked, pulling back to look at her. Both women stood quiet for a second. Patti regretted saying it the moment it left her lips. They both knew why Julie was so thin, and they certainly knew she had not been eating well.

"Julie!" Two small voices yelled as Julie and Patti pulled away from each other. 

"Wow, you two have gotten big," Julie told the two small children as she bent down to hug her cousins, Danny and Kelly. The door opened again, and Herb began bringing in her luggage. Danny and Kelly both started to bombard her with information on what they had been up to. Kelly was insisting on dragging her older cousin to her room to show off her new ballet shoes, while Danny was asking Julie when they could go to the ice rink so he could show her how good he had gotten at hockey. 

"Woah, woah, calm down and let your cousin relax. I'm sure she's tired from the flight. I'll have dinner ready in a little while, and you can all catch up with her then," Patti said, herding the children away from the cousin. Julie gave her a small, grateful smile before walking upstairs towards her old bedroom. Herb was putting her luggage beside the bed, as Julie took in the room she had occupied for so many nights of her childhood. It hadn't changed much. The walls were painted a pale pink color, with big windows adorned with white lace curtains. Her gold bed frame was still in the same place, topped with white pillows and a white bedspread. A pink and purple quilt was folded at the foot of the bed. She was sure the closet opposite the bed was nearly empty, but the vanity still had a couple pictures taped to the mirror. She knew the contents of the pictures without looking at them. Her old record player was still there, along with her collection of records. A few posters still hung on the wall in the corner with her records. 

"Thanks, Uncle Herb. And um...thanks for letting me stay here," she muttered quietly. He turned to his niece, took in her appearance for a long moment, and nodded.

"I'm glad you're here, sweetheart. And whatever this uh...rough patch is, we'll work through it" he patted her shoulder before he started to walk out of the room. "Oh, and I heard Verchota invite you out with the boys tonight. I think you oughta go."

Julie looked at him with annoyance. Was she really expected to spend her evening in a smoky old diner with a bunch of hockey players? Not to mention the fact that Rob was probably going to be there.

"Don't give me that look. I want you to go have some good, simple fun. I told you, this isn't a prison sentence. Maureen's is too far to walk, I'll have one of the boys come pick you up."

And with that, Herb walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.


	3. Chapter Two

"What exactly are we going to Herb's house for?" Jack O'Callahan looked over to his teammate as they drove towards their coach's house.

"I told you, OC, he called and asked me to pick up his niece and take her to Maureen's with us. I didn't ask any questions," Jimmy Craig replied as he pulled in front of the Brooks household. 

Jimmy and Jack, along with their teammates Mike Eruzione and Dave Silk, got out of the car and walked towards the house. The four of them had never been to their coach's house, and perhaps it was the pure curiosity that made all four of them get out of the car, when one person could've done the job. Jimmy knocked on the door and the four boys waited quietly for what seemed like an entire minute. 

"Boys," their coach nodded at them after swinging the door open. "Just one second, she'll be right down."

The boys nodded, as they tried to peek around their coach to get a glance at the inside of the house. Herb Brooks confused the hell out of these four Bostonians, and they simply had to see where he lived. Mostly they just wondered if it looked like a dungeon. 

"Julia, you're only going to a diner, would you just hurry up? The boys are down here waiting!" Herb called up the stairs in annoyance. He shot the boys an apologetic look, before the five men heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"None of my clothes are exactly 'diner in Minnesota' these days, Uncle Herb," a voice huffed. Herb opened the door all the way, allowing for the four young men to get their first look at Herb's seemingly high maintenance niece. All of their jaws dropped and they stood absolutely still.

"Herb, are you being serious right now?" Jack said, turning to his coach, his face knitted in confusion.

"What? This is my niece, Julie," Herb shrugged.

"Julie Brooks is your niece? Julie Brooks from Stonehead is your niece?" Mike asked, looking between his coach and the woman in front of him.

"Hi, I'm right here," Julie waved at the three of them sarcastically. "Yes, I'm Herb's niece. Have been for about 21 years now." 

Mike, Jack, Dave, and Jimmy gave each other a couple of strange looks before shrugging. They clearly were not going to get the explanation they were looking for.

"Uh...okay, well let's head out then, I guess," Jack said, turning and leading the way to the car. Mike motioned for Julie to follow Jack before following after her, Dave trailing behind. Before Jimmy could follow them down the driveway, Herb placed a hand on his shoulder. Jimmy turned to look at him, still trying to assess the situation.

"Listen here, Jimmy, I need you to keep a bit of an eye on her. She's here because she's turned herself into an absolute trainwreck over the last couple years. She might give you an attitude, and she might try to charm your ass off. You are to take her to the diner and bring her here after. No other stops, no matter what she tells you."

Jimmy looked away from his coach, to the young woman who was sliding into the front seat of the car. He watched as Jack held the door as she got in, and carefully shut it behind her. She showed no trace of emotion as she sat waiting in his car. What in the hell was their coach getting them into? 

"I never got any of your names," Julie said after the first few minutes of an awkward car ride. 

"I'm Jimmy Craig," the tall, dark-haired boy behind the wheel spoke up first. She glanced over at him, taking him in. He was probably her age, or a little older. 

"Mike Eruzione, but everyone calls me Rizzo," said the brunette in the back. She looked back at him when he spoke, and he gave her a small smile. 

"Dave Silk," responded the boy in the middle of the back seat, with somewhat curly brown hair and a sweet smile. 

"Jack O'Callahan, the boys usually call me OC." Julie looked at the third boy, who had long, dirty blond hair. He had been the one to insist she took the front seat. Ah, the famous Jack O'Callahan. She was curious to know how things had been going at practice, as she was pretty sure Jack hated Rob. She wouldn't exactly say the feeling was mutual, but Jack probably wasn't Rob's favorite person.

"I'm guessing from the accents that you're all from Massachusetts?" Julie chuckled quietly. She couldn't help but want to roll her eyes at them. How could her uncle ask a bunch of Boston boys to pick her up? He knew that she hated them after the brawl those pansies had started with her friends from the University of Minnesota in the 1976 national championship playoffs.

"I'm guessing you don't like us much from the way you said that?" Jimmy gave her a half smile. She couldn't help but smile back a little, sinking down into her seat. 

"I never said that. I'm just a Minnesota fan, is all."   
  
She heard Jack scoff in the back seat, before Rizzo spoke up.  
"So you're from Minnesota?"

"Well, I was born in Pennsylvania, but I moved to Saint Paul when I was eight. I used to spend a lot of my summers out here before we moved though. My dad's side of the family all live here. I was always visiting my aunt and uncle," Julie explained, watching the world go by outside the window. It seemed to her as though nothing had changed since the last time she was in Minneapolis. 

"What's it like having Herb for an uncle?" Jack asked her, apparently deciding to get over her Minnesota-Boston comments.

"Uncle Herb has always been great to me. Especially when I didn't deserve it. Like now," she laughed dryly as the car pulled into the parking lot. 

Without saying anything else, the five of them got out of the car and walked into the diner. An entire side of the small building was taken up by a group of rowdy college-aged boy, who had pushed all kinds of tables together. The boys lead the way to a few open seats, Julie following behind them. The laughter and loud conversations slowly quieted as she approached them. The boys around the tables slowly turned to look at her, the confusion evident on their faces. 

"Boys, this is Herb's niece, Julie. She's gonna hang out with us," Jimmy said, motioning to an empty chair for her before sitting in the one beside her. She sat down beside Jimmy, an unknown boy on her left. The boys were still quiet, before the sound of a chair scraping against linoleum made them all look towards the end of the table. Rob McClanahan threw down a few dollars on the table for the half-eaten burger on his plate, before he left the restaurant. Julie swore that if hearts could physically break, hers just did. 

"What the hell is wrong with Mac?" One of the boys questioned. Everyone looked towards her, but she just stared at the table.

"I've got to be honest, I have no idea what the hell is going on? Aren't you Julie Brooks?" A stocky, brown haired guy beside Julie asked her. She looked over at him and nodded. 

"Yeah, that's me. I'm staying with my uncle Herb for awhile. As for Mac, we used to be pretty good friends, but we got into a fight and now I guess he doesn't even want to be in the same room as me," Julie spit all of the information out quickly, hoping that once she told them all, they would drop it. It took a couple seconds, but slowly everyone returned to their own conversations. 

"Buzz Schneider," the guy introduced himself. "I used to play for your uncle back at the U." 

"Yeah, I think I remember you. You played in 74 when we won the national championship, right? I used to go to a lot of the games at U, when I still lived in Minnesota," Julie explained to him. He pushed a plate of fries that was in front of him closer to her. 

"When did you move out of Minnesota?" 

"I left when I was 16, caught a Greyhound from Saint Paul to Los Angeles" Julie said, picking up a fry. She was trying her hardest to not be rude to Buzz, who seemed like a nice guy. She was just sad. Sad and sober. Those were two things that Julie didn't like being. 

"I'm sure you're sick of hearing this, but I'm a big fan," Buzz said, a small blush creeping onto his cheeks. Julie smiled at him, an actual genuine smile.

"Thanks, Buzz. I really do appreciate hearing that."  
Julie sat back in her chair, picking at the fries in front of her. She looked around at the table, observing all the boys. They were all absorbed in conversation. There were a little over twenty of them total. Her uncle had told her that he had made a final roster of 26 players on the first day of try-outs. He still had to cut some people, as he could only take 20 players to the Olympics. She sat quietly, tapping her foot as she started to get lost in her thoughts. She started twiddling her thumbs, feeling anxious. She knew what she needed, but that unfortunately wasn't an option anymore. She looked around the diner, trying to take deep breaths to calm herself. 

"I'm going outside," she muttered to Jimmy, before practically running outside. The boys who were sitting nearby watched her go outside. Jimmy started to move after her, before Jack spoke up from across the table.

"Where are you going, Jimmy?"

Jimmy sighed, looking over at Jack.

"Herb asked us to keep an eye on her, sounds like he doesn't trust her. I'm just gonna go make sure she doesn't run off."

Jack stared after her for a minute, before standing up from his chair, and walking outside after her. Jimmy shrugged, before turning back to the table as the waitress came with some more food. 

"You know, those things will kill you," Jack said to Julie as he walked outside, seeing her smoking a cigarette. She laughed dryly.

"If Studio 54 on my 21st birthday couldn't kill me, nothing can." 

"Ya know, I saw you once. In Boston, when you opened for Aerosmith in 76," Jack said, standing beside her as she smoked. She looked up at him, a hint of a smile on her face.

"That seems like it was so long ago."

"You were good. Although maybe I would've felt differently if I had known you were a Minnesota fan," Jack teased her. 

Julie thought back to that tour. She was young, just 18. Stonehead was opening for Aerosmith on a world tour. She had joined the band as their lead singer a couple weeks after moving to LA when she was 16. Everything had happened so fast. One night, they're excited to get gigs on the Sunset Strip, and then they're open for Aerosmith. Her favorite show of that tour was Saint Paul. She had gotten tickets for Rob and some of his friends, which is how she met Phil Verchota. She had brought them backstage, introduced them to everyone, and they even partied with Aerosmith all night. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just joking," Jack said to her when he noticed how quiet she had gotten.

"No, no, you didn't upset me. I just can't help but think how much things have changed since then," Julie said, taking a particularly long drag of her cigarette. 

"Why did Mac leave? If you don't mind my asking."

Julie put the cigarette out, looking to Jack sadly.

"Mac is my best friend...or was, I suppose. We always kept in touch, no matter how busy the two of us got. A week before he left to go to Colorado Springs for the Olympic try-outs, he caught on to some of my...bad habits. He confronted me on it, and I told him to mind his business. We got into a pretty big argument and we haven't spoken since. I know it's my fault, and I need to apologize to him, but I doubt he'll even listen if I do."

Jack looked at her, the expression on his face unreadable. He was quiet for a few minutes until he finally spoke up.

"We should get back in there, I'm starving and I'm sure you are too."  


"I'm home," Julie informed her uncle, poking her head into his office, where he was focusing on a stack of papers on his desk. He didn't look up when she spoke.

"Did you have fun?"

"Mac left when I got there," Julie spit out the thing that weighed heavy on her mind, barely allowing Herb to finish the question. Her uncle stopped what he was doing for a minute to look up at her.

"You just need to talk to him, I'm sure the two of you can work it out."

Julia nodded, turning to leave his office before turning back around. 

"Do you mind if I use the phone to call my friends? I just want to let them know I got here safely."

"I put the old phone from the kitchen in your room. Goodnight, Julia."

She told her uncle goodnight, heading to her room. She grabbed a change of clothes and headed for the bathroom. After showering and brushing her teeth, she put on a pair of shorts and a University of Minnesota hockey sweatshirt before heading into her room. She curled up on the bed, turning to the phone on the nightstand. She debated whether or not she should call. I mean, she was supposed to be staying away from her old lifestyle, but her bandmates were practically her family. She shouldn't be expected to not speak to them. She made up her mind and dialed the house number. As she listened to the first couple rings, she was scared no one was home.

"Hello?" A woman's voice spoke over the phone, and Julie broke into a huge smile. It was her friend, and the one who played keys in the band, Cynthia Lanning. 

"Hi Cyndi, it's me."

"Jules! How are you, sweetheart?" Julie could hear voices in the background, asking for her. She thought her heart would burst. 

They miss me. 

"I'm okay. I just got back from dinner and I was about to go to bed when I thought I should check in with you guys. Let you know I made it safely and stuff."

"I'm glad you called. Who did you go to dinner with? Family?" Cyndi asked her. Cyndi was genuinely happy to hear from her bandmate. It's true, that the band was part of the reason she'd been exiled to Minnesota, but it was for her own good. 

"No, uh, I went with the Olympic hockey team," Julie laughed at how strange it sounded. She was used to spending time with rock stars and actors, and now she was casually hanging out with Olympic athletes.

"Was Robbie there?" 

"Yeah, until I got there. He got up and left. He won't look at me or talk to me," Julie told her bandmate, the smile disappearing from her face. The band had met Robbie a couple times, and they knew all about the fight that had sent Julie spiraling. 

"Give it time, dear, I'm sure it'll work out. Hey, Jim wants to talk to you."

"How ya doing, Jules?" 

James "Jim" Mason was the guitarist in the band, and the oldest at the age of 27. He had always been the unspoken leader. 

"I'm alright. My aunt and uncle have been really nice. I've met a couple of nice hockey players too. It could be worse. How's everything there?"

Julie didn't tell them the truth about her uncontrollable urges. The booze, the drugs, she still wanted it all. But she wouldn't admit that to them. She had spent some time getting clean before she came back to Minnesota, but that didn't mean the urges weren't still there.

"It's going alright. Susan had her last check-up, the baby should be here any day. Steven is really excited. We're actually about to head out. The Stones are in town for a couple days, they're having a little get together. But I'm glad you called, keep us updated on everything, okay?" 

"Yeah, of course. Have fun tonight. Send everyone my love."

After hanging up the phone, Julie laid back in her bed. She tried not to think about all the fun everyone would be having that evening without her. She was glad she had talked to Jim and Cyndi, though. Hopefully she could catch Steven and Tommy too, soon. Steven Gregory was their bass player, and his girlfriend was about to give birth to their first child. Tom Reed was their drummer, and Julie's go-to partner in crime. Jim and Cyndi had always been close, and everyone knew they were sleeping together, but Julie always thought there were deeper feelings between the two of them. She loved the four of them dearly. They were more than bandmates to her, they were family. They had been through everything together. Julie had met them when she was 16 and alone in a new city, they took her in, gave her a career, and supported her through the whole thing. Things had started to go downhill about a year ago. Julie stopped herself before she went down that road. She couldn't think of that right now. At this point, she just needed to try and fall asleep without overthinking herself to death.


	4. Chapter 4

"Let's go, Julia! Time to get up!"

Julie rolled over, groaning loudly. It took her a second to remember where she was. She was in her old room at Aunt Patti and Uncle Herb's. It was still dark in the room, the Minnesota sky was still filled with stars.

"Why?" Julie called out, curling up into a ball in bed.

"Your Aunt Patti is taking the kids to see her sister in Chicago for the weekend, and you're not staying here alone, so you're coming to practice with me," Herb said, flipping the light on in her bedroom. Julie pulled the blanket over her head in protest.

"You have twenty minutes to be in the car ready to go. If you make us late, I'm taking the phone out of your room."

That was enough to make Julie roll over, kicking her blankets off of her. She slowly got up, rubbing her eyes. She trudged to the bathroom, washing her face and brushing her teeth. When she returned to her room, she looked at the clock. It was just a few minutes after 5 am, which meant it was around 3 am in LA. Her friends were probably still at the party. She sighed sadly, trying not to allow herself to be too sad. She fixed her hair, letting the waves hang loose down her back. She put on some makeup, mostly just mascara, blush, and a little bit of lipstick. She knew it was a little silly to be worried about makeup to go watch a hockey practice, but it was just a habit for her. She opened her suitcases, which she hadn't bothered to unpack yet, looking inside for what to wear. Most of the clothing she had brought with her were a little glamorous for hockey practice, but she managed to find a pair of plain, but cute jeans. She slipped them on and decided she would keep on her U of Minnesota sweatshirt. She slipped on a pair of shoes, heading downstairs to the smell of coffee.

"Coffee?" Her uncle asked, pouring himself a travel mug.

"Please," she muttered, gratefully taking the coffee before the two of them walked out to the car. The morning air was still cool, despite it being August, and it felt fresh against Julie's skin. She drank some coffee, barely waiting for it to cool.

"Did you sleep okay?" Herb asked her as they drove towards the arena. It wasn't a far drive, and the sun was starting to paint the sky a myriad of colors.

"Yeah, it was alright. It felt kinda nice to be in my old bed," Julie admitted to him. She glanced over, and swore she saw a bit of a smile on his face.

Julie sat in the stands as her uncle ran practice. She had to admit, it didn't exactly look like the team was gelling very well. Some of the guys had played together before, but it seemed that her uncle was trying to teach them a new style of playing. She sat for most of the practice thinking about Robbie. She had to talk to him today. There was no way she could stand to stay in Minnesota if her best friend would be giving her the cold shoulder the whole time. She thought back to the fight that had halted their friendship.

_"Are you ready for try-outs?" Julie asked her best friend on the phone._

_"Yeah, I guess. A whole bunch of the guys from the team are driving to Colorado Springs together. I just hope we all make it."_

_"I'm sure you're going to make it, Mac. It's crazy to think about it really. I mean, you're going to play in the Olympics!"_

_Robbie laughed, shaking his head, despite the fact that she couldn't see him_.

_"Jules, I haven't even made the team yet."_

_"Yeah, but you will. I know you will."_

_"Hey, how's the album coming along?"_

_"I have a couple days left of recording to do, and then it's just gotta be mixed. But I don't think we'll release it until next year. And you know, there's gonna be a killer release party, you better be there!"_

_"Yeah, Jules, I know. I promise I'll come visit LA soon."_

_"You better. And I'll take you to all the hottest clubs and parties. Some of the places on the strip are wild!"_

_Robbie bit his lip, before he sighed quietly. Julie noticed a change in his tone when he spoke, and his next words gave her a bad feeling in her stomach._

_"I think we need to talk about some of that."_

_"Some of what?" Julie asked him quietly._

_"It's just that...maybe you're partying a little too much lately. I know you're having a lot of fun, but like last week when I called, you could barely speak in full sentences. And that's not the first time."_

_Julie scoffed, standing up off her bed and going to stare out her window._

_"What do you know about how much I'm partying, Robbie? And you said yourself, I'm having a lot of fun."_

_"Everytime I call you you're either drunk, about to get drunk, or hungover."_

_"I'm 21, am I not allowed to have a couple drinks when I go out? It's a different world here, everyone is drinking."_

_"Well, it's about more than just the booze," Rob decided to finally speak what was really on his mind. Everyone knew she wasn't just drinking anymore._

_"What do you mean by that?" Julie was challenging him, daring him to say what he was really thinking._

_"I mean, everyone knows you're doing cocaine. And from what I can tell, you're doing a hell of a lot of it."_

_Neither one of them could really believe that he had said it. They both knew he was right, but addressing it was something entirely different._

_"Why would you say that?" Julie spit, her jaw clenching and unclenching in anger._

_"Because it's true! I can tell when you're high when I talk to you, and every time I see a picture of you, you've lost more weight. I was worried about you, so I called Michael and he said he and Jim were having the same thoughts."_

_"You called my manager?! Behind my back? I'm not a fucking kid, Rob."_

_"I know you're not a kid, Jules. I'm not trying to upset you, I'm just worried about you. I think everyone is. You binge drink almost every day, and who knows how long you've been using coke?"_

_"No one needs to worry about me! I'm a grown woman. Mind your fucking business, Rob."_

_Julie heard him sigh into the phone. He was probably running his hands through his shiny, dark hair._

_"Don't tell me to mind my business, Julia. You're my best friend, your well-being is my business. And with your family history-"_

_"I don't need you to care about my_ well- _being, and don't bring my dad into this! I'm 21 and I'm on top of the fucking world. I don't need anyone or anything." Julia regretted it as soon as she said it, but she was too prideful to take it back._

_"Fine. Then I won't worry about it. I'm sure you don't need me. After all, I'm not a fucking mountain of coke or bottle of Jack." Robbie hung up the phone. Julia listened to the dial tone for a minute, before slamming the phone into the receiver and going to get ready for the party she was heading to that night._

She was relieved when practice finally ended and the boys made their way to the locker room. Julie moved quickly, planting herself in the hallway outside the locker room. He wouldn't be able to avoid her.

She waited patiently as boy after boy came out of the locker room. She said hi to the ones she knew, made some small talk, and even met a couple of the other boys that she hadn't properly met at the diner. Every time the door swung open, she looked towards the door, hoping to see the dark haired boy she missed so badly. In true Rob fashion, he was probably taking extra care to make sure all of his things were put away perfectly. Finally, she saw Robbie walk out of the locker room. He froze when he saw her, his eyes narrowing. They stood in silence for a minute, before he finally spoke.

"That's my sweatshirt," Robbie told her bitterly.

"Can we talk, Mackey?"

"What do you need to say? You said plenty on the phone," Rob said, rolling his eyes and trying to walk past her. She stepped in front of him, not ready to let this go.

"I need to apologize to you. I'm really sorry. You were right, Rob. You were right all along."

"Save it, Julia, I don't want to hear it right now," Robbie pushed around her, walking towards the doors to the parking lot.

"Robbie, please just listen to me! I know I fucked up. I made a lot of mistakes, I know that," Julie cried, following him out into the parking lot. Robbie finally turned towards her, his brown eyes filled with rage.

"You didn't make mistakes. You made choices. You made stupid choices, and you expected me and everyone to sit back and let you do dumb shit!"

Julia looked at her best friend in shock. He was usually the calm and collected one, unlike Julie who was the emotional one. The two of them were so wrapped up in their argument, they didn't notice some of Rob's teammates who were hanging out in the parking lot had noticed them. Rizzo, Jack, Jimmy, and a guy named Mark Johnson, who Julie had just met, were talking outside of Jimmy's car before they turned to see what the yelling was about.

"And I'm here now trying to fix it! Isn't that worth something, Rob? I'm away from all of that now."

Robbie laughed dryly, rolling his eyes at her.

"Don't even try that shit with me. You're not trying to fix shit, you didn't have a choice to come here. I know everything that happened that night. You wouldn't be here at all if it wasn't for the band. That's so typical of you, trying to act like you're doing some amazing thing when it reality it wasn't you at all!"

"What's going on here?" Jimmy butted in, putting a hand on Rob's shoulder. Julie was standing a few feet away from Rob, tears welling up in her eyes. She hadn't even noticed the hockey players walking over to them.

"Robbie, I'm sorry, okay?" Julie said quietly, the tears starting to roll down her face. Jimmy and Jack both went to her side, looking at Rob with accusatory glances.

"Oh, and of fucking course, you're just going to have everyone wrapped around your finger. They might fall for your shit, Julia, but they have no idea what I've gone through with you. They don't know the shit you've put me and Herb and everyone else through."

At this point, Julie was full blown crying. Rizzo and Mark got in front of Robbie, trying to push him away from the situation.

"Just shut up, Mac," Jimmy said to his teammate. They all froze when they heard the doors to the arena open, seeing Herb and his assistant coach Craig Patrick walking out. When Rob saw them, he turned on his heel, walking away from them all. Julie felt more tears pouring from her eyes. She quickly took off the sweatshirt she was wearing, leaving her in just her tank top.

"Here, McClanahan, take your stupid fucking sweatshirt!" She yelled, balling it up and throwing it at his back. The four hockey players left standing in front of her all looked at her with pity. They stood next to her, saying nothing, as their coaches approached the car.

"What's going on here?" Herb said, looking at his crying niece and his four confused players.

"Nothing. Can we just go home, please?" Julie said, getting in the car and slamming the door behind her.

Julia was spending her Friday night lying in her bed crying. She had "I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!" by Janis Joplin on the record player. After her fight with Robbie, she had refused to talk on the car ride home. Once they had returned home, she had trudged her way to her room, falling on her bed in a heap of tears. She was thankful her aunt and cousins were away, and her uncle seemed to be giving her some much needed space. She debated on whether or not she should call her friends back in California, but she was afraid she wouldn't be able to tell them about her fight with Robbie without bursting into sobs. She listened to Janis wailing "Maybe" on the record and just felt bad for herself. Three weeks ago she was in London hanging out with Jimmy Page, and now she was crying in her childhood bed in Minnesota. She had really, really messed up.

"Julia?" Her uncle knocked quietly on her door. "I had a pizza delivered. I figured since it was just us this weekend, ya know pizza could be fun."

She couldn't help but feel a little swell in her heart. Pizza on a Friday night used to be her and her dad's weekly tradition. Her uncle knew this, and was undoubtedly trying to cheer her up. She wiped her eyes, taking a shaky breath.

Herb waited outside the door, anxious to hear something from his niece. He hoped he hadn't upset her more by bringing up her tradition with her dad, but he had to do something to try and help her. He heard her moving around in her room, drawers opening and closing. The music abruptly came to a stop. She opened the door, her face still red and puffy, her hair tied up in a messy ponytail.

"Did you get Mario's?" She asked hopefully.

The boys sat in the living room area of their dorm building. Rizzo was making them dinner again, and they were thankful for his cooking skills. But no one could deny the awkward silence between a few of them. A few more of the boys had heard about the outburst Rob had on Julie earlier that day. If they were honest with themselves, most of them were curious what she could've possibly done to make their normally cool teammate lose it like that. Most of the twenty-six of them sat scattered around on the couches and chairs, several of them sitting on the floor. A couple guys waited for dinner in their room. They had ESPN on the little television, everyone staying relatively quiet.

"Can we please discuss the elephant in the room?" John Harrington, who the boys called Bah, finally spoke. "Mac looked pissed when he got home from practice, and he's been in his room since. Plus, he left the diner last night right when Julie got there."

"Listen, boys, I tried to get it out of Julie at the diner. She didn't give me a whole lot of information, but all I know is that her and Mac were best friends, and they got into a fight a week before we all went to Colorado Springs. She said he had confronted her on some 'bad habits' and they got into a fight over it. I guess she tried to smooth things over today and it went south real quick," Jack said from his spot on the couch, not taking his eyes off the T.V.

"Bad habits? The hell does that mean?" Buzz asked from his spot on the floor.

"Mac made it sound like she's done some real bad stuff," was Jack's only response, shrugging at Buzz.

"Of course she has. You guys haven't heard any of the stuff about her? From what I've heard, she's gotten kicked out of half the clubs in LA, and even Steven Tyler said he can barely keep up with her," Mike Ramsey chimed in.

"Oh, shut up, Rammer. You can't believe all the shit you hear," Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"When they send you to live with Herb Brooks, you must've done something bad," Rammer said, causing all the boys to laugh.

The laughter died down when Rob walked into the room, glaring at his teammates.

"For God's sake, don't stop talking about her now that I'm around," Rob said, going into the kitchen to grab a glass of milk.

"Why don't you just tell us what happened, Mac? Last I talked to you before try-outs, the two of you were best friends. Then you saw her yesterday and didn't even say hi to her," Phil Verchota turned to look at his friend. Robbie sighed loudly, making Phil and Jimmy move on the couch so he could sit between them.

"Fine, if you really want to know what happened, here it is. I can't possibly tell you all the terrible shit she's done, but I can tell you what she did to get sent back to Minnesota."

_It was an early August morning in Colorado Springs. Twenty-six boys slept soundly in hotel rooms, after having made the Olympic team the previous day. None of them were expecting to be done with try-outs after only one day, so many of them were planning on taking the day to relax, or explore Colorado Springs, before heading home. Rob was lying in his bed in the hotel room he was sharing with Steve Janaszak. He couldn't tell what had woken him, until he heard it again. Someone was knocking on the door._

_"Mac?" He heard the voice of Herb Brooks, his longtime coach. Rob quickly threw a shirt on, walking quickly to answer the door. The only thoughts racing through his mind were that Herb had made a mistake, and Rob wasn't on the roster. He pushed those thoughts from his head as he opened the door._

_"Hey, coach."_

_"Mac, have you talked to Julia recently?" Herb was serious, his blue eyes staring intensely. Rob stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind him to not wake his roommate._

"Uh, no...we got into an argument about a week ago. Haven't spoken since," Rob admitted, nervous to look at his coach. Herb looked surprised at his answer

_"An argument? About what?"_

_Robbie sighed. He really didn't want to bring all this up, but Herb looked too serious to ignore._

_"Well, coach, I kind of told her that I was worried about her, ya know? I just feel like her partying has been out of control lately. I told her that, and she didn't like that."_

_"I don't say this often, Mac, so revel in it, but you were absolutely right. Patti just called, she got a call from Michael Jenson. Julie's in the hospital. I didn't know the two of you weren't speaking, I just thought I'd let you know," Herb looked solemn, staring at the ground._

_"In the hospital? What happened? Is she okay?" Rob couldn't help but be concerned about her. She was his best friend, after all._

_"I don't really know all the details. Patti was pretty upset, couldn't get much out of her. That's why I came to you, I thought you might have some answers."_

_The two of them stood silently for a long moment, each lost in his own thoughts._

_"I should give Michael a call," Rob said, trying not to sound as worried as he felt. Herb nodded, letting the boy go back into his room. Rob rushed over to the phone, sitting down on his bed. Hopefully Janny was a heavy sleeper. Rob dialled the number he had called several times in the past month or so, and waited while it rang a couple times._

_"Hello?"_

_"Michael, hi, it's Rob McClanahan. I just talked to Julie's uncle Herb, what's going on?_

_"Jesus, Rob, I'm glad to hear from you. Yeah, things have been a shit show. Julie's in the hospital. The amount of cocaine and Quaaludes in her system was enough to take down a fucking horse. I swear to Christ, Rob, this girl is gonna be the cause of my early death. It's a fucking miracle she hasn't been the cause of her own yet."_

_Robbie felt like he was going to vomit. Everything he was afraid of hearing was coming true. He contemplated for a minute whether he should try to get to Los Angeles. He seemed to be drowning in his own thoughts, so badly so that he forgot he hadn't said anything._

_"Holy shit, is she gonna be okay?"_

_"Yeah, she'll be alright. She was in a car wreck though, that's how we found her. She wasn't driving, thank goodness, but she got a concussion and a cracked rib or two. I'm not even fucking worried about that though. She's just out of control. The rest of the band is so sick of worrying about her. It's like every night after a party, someone has to go make sure that she's still alive. And tonight was fucking rough, man. We're trying to come up with some sort of solution. If we can't figure out a way to help her, she's going to rehab."_

_"Why don't you just get her away from it all for awhile, ya know? Maybe away from Los Angeles."_

_"That's probably what we're going to end up doing. I've been at the hospital for hours, I just left with Jim and Cyndi."_

_"Isn't it like 5 am there? I'm sorry she's putting you through so much shit. Is Jim there?"_

_"Yeah, give me one second. I'll grab him for you."_

_"Robbie, hi. How's it going?"_

_Rob should've been telling them that he had made the Olympic hockey team, but that all seemed irrelevant, given that his best friend had nearly died._

_"I'm alright, man. Michael filled me in a little. Who the hell was she in the car with?"_

_He heard a sigh on the other side of the phone._

_"Listen to this shit, we're all pretty pissed about this one. We knew her coke habit was becoming a problem, so we all made a decision that we'd quit doing it. We figured if no one was buying it anymore, she wouldn't be able to do nearly as much of it. It was mostly just Tommy using anymore, but he said he'd quit for a few days. Well, we're at The Troubadour, checking out some new band. Everybody is having a few drinks, having a good time. Jules was being unusually well behaved. All of a sudden she disappears to the bathroom. She comes back high as a kite, none of us were too surprised. She goes to dance or something and next thing we know, she's flirting with some guy we've never seen before. And you know how she is, she can be charming as hell when she wants to be. She keeps disappearing with this guy, and we all realize he must have coke or something. I don't know exactly what happens next, but from what we've gathered, Jules freaked out because she was too high or something. So she convinces this guy, this total fucking stranger, to take her somewhere, but neither one will tell us where she was trying to go. So this guy agrees to drive her, despite the fact that he's been drinking and snorting coke all night. We realized she had been gone for a few minutes, so we send Cyndi to the bathroom to find her. Cyndi can't find her, none of us can find her. All the sudden, we see an ambulance and a couple cop cars rushing down the street, and we all just fucking knew she was involved. They only made it a couple blocks down Santa Monica before the dude hit a parked car. Luckily no one was seriously injured, but that guy is in a ton of trouble. And the fact that she got in a strangers car for drugs tells me she's off the fucking rails. If we don't do something soon, Robbie, I'm not sure how much longer she's gonna live. And you know I love her, but I won't let her drag this band to hell with her."_

The boys sat in silence, all of them staring at Rob. He looked around at all of them, before getting up.

"Jesus, Rizzo, is dinner almost ready? I'm starving," Rob complained, walking towards the kitchen table. He could feel his teammates staring at him, but he had nothing left to say.

"What the hell, Mac?" Dave finally spoke up.

"What the hell what? I told you I'd tell you and I did," Rob shrugged, as Rizzo started to put food on the table.

"But like what happened? Was she okay?" Rammer asked, as all the boys moved towards the kitchen to get food.

"Rammer, you saw her yesterday, she's obviously fine," Rizzo pointed out.

"They made her stay in LA for a little while she healed up from the wreck, and so they could make sure she sobered up a bit. Then I guess they put her on a plane and now she's in Minnesota," Rob said as the boys all sat or stood in various places in the kitchen to eat their dinner.

"Listen, Mac, all I'm saying is she probably needs a friend right now. Maybe you should just hear her out. She did some dumb shit, but they sent her here to sort herself out, and fighting with you isn't gonna help her. She really doesn't seem that bad," Jimmy pointed out to him.

"Yeah, she seems pretty cool. Plus, she's hot," Jack smirked, earning him a slap upside the head from Rob.

"Don't start, O'Callahan."

"Aw, see Mac, you do still care about her," Rizzo laughed.


	5. Chapter 5

  
The rest of the weekend went by fairly uneventful for Julie. She quietly sat through practice on Saturday morning, and practically ran to her uncle's car when practice was over to avoid all the boys. She definitely didn't want to see Rob, and she knew that the boys who hadn't witnessed her crying in the parking lot had certainly heard about it by now. Julie felt absolutely humiliated about how it had happened. She never intended for anyone to witness it, but of course she never intended it to play out the way it did. Julie never expected Rob to just immediately forgive her, but she was shocked out how he had reacted. She tried not to wallow too much on Saturday, instead choosing to spend it with her cousins playing board games. Sunday was the team's off day, so she got to sleep in. Julie was just stretching out in bed late in the morning when the phone beside her bed rang.

"Brooks residence," Julie tried not to yawn as she answered the phone.

"Hi, Jules!"

"Tommy! Oh my lord, it's so good to hear your voice," Julie immediately sat up in bed, fully awake now. Just hearing one of her closest friends' voices excited her.

"How ya doin', sweetheart?"

"Oh, I'm...alright. I haven't managed to make up with Mac yet. In fact, we got in a huge fight in front of some of his teammates. It was so embarrassing, Tom. I cried in front of them," Julie groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"Mac will come around. Just focus on getting your shit together, and I'm sure he'll see you're trying. Speaking of which, how are you feeling? Ya know, with all that?" 

"I mean, I can't say it's as bad as the first week. Still not easy, but I think I'll get through it. I feel kind of anxious sometimes, but strangely I've been sleeping pretty well. It's kind of nice to be back in my old room."

"How many of the hockey players have you shagged?"

Julie gasped, trying not to laugh.

"Shut up, Tom! I haven't slept with anyone!"

"Yeah, yeah, you will eventually. All those boys around, you'll be bored. It's just what'll happen. You can have a hockey baby!"

Julie laughed harder, shaking her head. Tom loved to mess with people, especially her. He always knew how to make her feel better when she really felt terrible. 

"Speaking of babies, how's Susan?"

"She's ready to get this thing out. They've officially decided on names. Linda Marie if it's a girl. Kevin Steven if it's a boy. Oh, and get this! They asked Jim and Cyndi to be the godparents, and the two of them had the nerve to act all confused. Like we didn't all know they were together. They really thought they were being sneaky," Tom scoffed. Julie giggled quietly, she was glad someone had finally called them out. She couldn't help but be a little sad; she was missing important stuff after all. She wasn't going to be there when the baby was born. Who knows how long it would be before she go to be back in LA to finally meet the little angel? 

"Someone better call me the moment that baby is born. Hey, how was the party with the Stones the other night?" She bit her lip, silently praying that Tom would tell her that everyone missed her and was asking about her.

"It was fun, not as much fun without you though. Mick told me to tell you good luck with everything. Everyone sends their love. I probably had to answer the question 'Where's Jules tonight?' seventeen times that night."

Julie couldn't help but smile widely. She hadn't been totally forgotten in LA. Thoughts of Tom and her tearing up the party scene in Hollywood flooded Julie's mind. They used to be a dynamic duo, hitting all the parties up and down the Sunset Strip. Shots, lines, joints, and who knows what else would be sprinkled throughout their night. Julie can't imagine going to a Rolling Stones party without Tommy, and she secretly hoped he was missing her just as much as she was missing him. 

"Well, good. Tell everyone I'll be back and better than ever before long. They're just going to have to miss me for a little while."

"Classic Julia, leaving the world wanting more. Listen, I gotta go, but it was good to catch up. Hang in there, darling, and we'll talk soon." 

The next days dragged on for Julie. She spent a lot of time with her cousins and her aunt. Herb was busy with the hockey team, but sometimes Julie would stay up late with him at night, watching footage. Things had started to get easier for her. She tried to keep up with her friends in California, talking to them on the phone as often as possible, Sometimes she would go to practice with Herb, maybe exchange small talk with a player or two. Rob ignored her, as did a few of the Minnesota boys. She had gotten to know a couple of the Boston boys. On a boring Friday night, Julie was grateful when the phone rang and her aunt told her it was for her. 

"Hello?"

"Hey, Julie, it's Jack O'Callahan, from the team."

Yeah, Jack, I know who you are, she thought, internally giggling. 

"Hey, OC, what's going on?"

"A couple of us were gonna go bowling, we thought we'd see if you wanna tag along?"

Julie bit her lip, thinking for a minute. She did want a night out, but there were certain reasons she felt like it might not be such a good idea. How exactly could she word this delicately?

"Sounds kind of fun...who all is planning on going?"

"Probably just me, Jimmy Craig, Rizzo, and Dave Silk," neither one of them mentioned Rob's name, which was probably for the best. Jack knew that that's who Julie was wondering about when she asked the question.

"Um...yeah, sure. I'd love to go."

"Great, we'll pick you up at 7."

"It's not my fault you suck at bowling!" Everyone laughed on the drive home as Rizzo rolled his eyes at Jack.

"I'm better than Jules, though," Jack smirked, leaning forward to look at her from the back seat of Jimmy's car.

"Oh, shut up, O'Callahan, you beat me by four points!" Julie scoffed at him, pushing him back into his seat. Rizzo and Dave laughed from their spots on either side of Jack.

"Yeah, OC, and if you hadn't snuck up and scared Julie right before she bowled her last frame, she would've beat you," Jimmy pointed out. 

"Exactly! He's a cheater, I'm never bowling with him again," Julie said, feigning anger as she turned to face forward and crossed her arms. Jack once again leaned forward, putting his head between Julie and Jimmy. 

"C'mon, Julsie, you know that's not true! You had a ton of fun with us tonight and you know it," Jack gave her his ever-charming smile, causing her to smile at him.

"Ya know, guys, I did have a ton of fun tonight. I really appreciate it, I needed it bad."

They all knew what she meant. She was still bummed out about Rob. Whenever she saw him at practice, she tried to avoid eye contact because she was scared she would cry. Everyone told her just to give it time and things would sort themselves out, but she couldn't help the voice in her head that said he would never speak to her again. 

"It's no problem, we're just happy you could come out with us," Jimmy said.

"How are you surviving Minnesota?" 

"I just want to get back to California, honestly," she sighed. 

"Well, until you get here, you're welcome to hang out with us," Dave invited as they pulled up in front of the Brooks residence. Rizzo quickly got out of the car, opening the passenger door so Julie could get out. 

"Thanks, Silky. Goodnight, boys," Julie smiled at the boys in the car before getting out and thanking Rizzo for getting her door. They called out a chorus of goodbyes and goodnights as Rizzo walked her towards the door. Rizzo waited to make sure she made it safely inside before heading back to the car with the boys to head back to the dorm.

"Hey, boys," Mark Johnson greeted them from the couch when they entered the dorm building. "How was bowling?"

"It was a lot of fun. We ended up taking Julie with us," Dave Silk said.

"You took Julie with you?" Mark repeated, raising his eyebrows at him. 

"Yeah, it was fun. I know her and Mac have their problems, but she's really not that bad. She's a lot of fun, actually," Rizzo said, walking towards the hallway where his room was. Right as he rounded the corner, he bumped right into Rob. 

"Who's a lot of fun?" Rob asked him, but the look in his eyes said he already knew who Rizzo was talking about. His brows were drawn down his face in an accusatory store. 

"We went bowling, took Julie with us," Rizzo said casually, moving past Rob before any argument broke out. Just when Rizzo thought he was going to burst, Rob surprised his teammate.

"How's she doing?" He asked him quietly. Rizzo turned around to face his friend, trying to read his face, but Rob stood stone faced. He didn't look angry or sad or anything. 

"She's alright. She said she really misses LA. Her friend's girlfriend had a baby, I think she's sad she missed it. And I know she misses you, Mac." 

Rob just nodded, before continuing on his way to the living room.


	6. Chapter 6

A few short days later, the team was walking through JFK airport to catch a connecting flight to Amsterdam. They had their first game against Holland's national team. Julie couldn't believe it when her uncle invited her to go with them, but he said it would be good for the team to have someone in the stands supporting them, as obviously not many people were making the journey. They would spend the majority of the month of September playing games in the Netherlands, Finland, and Norway.

"How easily do you think I could sneak off and hop a flight to LA?" Julie muttered to Jack as they walked towards their terminal. 

"Probably pretty easily, considering Herb is pretty distracted. Everyone is rushing to get to the plane, you could just slowly fall out of line and sneak off. Of course, I wouldn't let you do that," he grinned obnoxiously at her.

"And why the hell wouldn't you let me do that?" 

"Because Herb would be so pissed off he'd make my life a living hell. And you're not awful to be around. Mostly just because I haven't used your fame to my own advantage yet, still thinking of the perfect way to do it," he smirked at her, as she tried to suppress a grin.

"You're annoying as hell, OC."

"You'll learn to love it, everybody does."

"Yeah, I'm sure those Boston girls went crazy over you, Jack," she laughed, but she meant it. Jack was cute, funny, charming, and an athlete. He was what college girls went crazy over. 

"Yep, and now we get to conquer the whole world of women. You can be my wingwoman," Jack grinned, before his eyes lit up and he looked at Julie. "Jules, do you know Farah Fawcett? I really think I'd have a shot with her if she got to know me."

Rob walked several feet behind them, watching sadly as his best friend laughed loudly at something his teammate was saying. Not just any teammate, but Jack O'Callahan. Rob didn't harbor the same grudge that Jack had when they were first brought together as teammates, but what a cruel twist of fate that Julie and Jack seemed to be drawn together. Rob couldn't help but feel that he was on the outside looking in as his best friend talked and laughed with other guys from the team. Julie was social and good at making friends, but why Jack? After the fight that had occurred during their first practice—which, to Rob's knowledge, Julie knew nothing about—Rob had repeated to himself over and over again that old rivalries would not be the reason he didn't make it to the Olympics. Still, he couldn't help but feel a little bitter that his best friend had taken to Jack so quickly. He had spent the last several days thinking about how he was probably too hard on her. He had definitely been a jerk, he knew that much, but still, he stood by the sentiment. She had gotten mad at him for being a good friend, for caring about her. He obviously had turned out to be correct, but he wasn't happy about it. He didn't know how to apologize to her, but he knew he wanted to be her friend again.

"Why don't you just talk to her?" Buzz leaned over to Rob, having noticed him watching her and Jack. Rob looked over at him without saying anything, knowing that it was finally time to bury the hatchet.

Julie was one of the first people to board the plane, grabbing a window seat near the middle of the plane. The team had all of the seats on the small plane and could sit anywhere. She sat quietly as everyone else boarded, trying to get comfortable in her seat for what would be a long, overnight flight. She was staring absentmindedly out the window when she felt someone sit next to her. She looked up, doing a double take when she saw who had taken the seat beside her. He didn't look at her as he put a pillow behind his head, trying to get comfortable.

"Mac?" She said quietly, trying to calm her racing heart. Maybe her best friend was finally going to forgive her. He finally looked up at her, his brown eyes shining. She could read her best friend like a book, and she knew by the look in his eyes that this was it. They missed each other terribly, and they were both ready to forgive each other and move on. 

"Hi, Jules," was all he said as he put the armrest between them up. Julie took a deep breath before speaking. 

"Robbie, I just wanted to say-"

"Not now, Jules, we're taking a nap," Robbie said, throwing his arm around her and pulling her close. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back. She wanted to protest, to talk things out, but she quickly realized the two of them didn't need to talk it out. They had been best friends for 13 years, and they knew each other well. They were both sorry, and they both wanted this fight to be over with. She decided just to put her head on his shoulder, allowing herself to relax against him and settle in for the long flight.

"Love you," she said quietly, breathing in the scent of his cologne that she knew so well.

"Love you, Jules," he murmured, kissing the top of her head before the two of them let sleep take over. 

Hours into the flight, and Jack still couldn't sleep. He had never been good at sleeping on airplanes or in cars. He stretched out in his aisle seat, before turning around to stretch his back. A couple rows back on the other side of the aisle, he saw Rob sleeping comfortably, leaning his head on top of the person next to him. He craned his neck to see who he was cuddled up with and was surprised to see Jules curled into his side. 

"Did Mac and Jules make up?" Jack asked Jimmy, who was dozing in and out beside him,

"I don't know, did they?" Jimmy asked, barely opening his eyes to look at Jack.

"They're cuddled up asleep together," Jack said, turning around in his seat again to look at them. Jules looked content as she was tucked into Mac's side, his jacket thrown over her curled up body. 

"Well, then it sounds like they must've made up," Jimmy shrugged, turning over in his seat and closing his eyes again.

Jack felt a little conflicted. On the one hand, he was happy for them, he knew that both of them were really upset over their fight. On the other hand, he felt a little selfishly sad. He and Jules had really started to form a friendship over the last two weeks that she had been there. He had to admit he was worried that since she and Rob had made up, she would forget all about him and their newly forming friendship. Jack and Rob were civil, and sometimes they could even get along, so maybe everyone could be friends, but Jack knew he couldn't come close to the friendship Rob and Julie had formed over the years. He sighed quietly, knowing he wouldn't be getting any sleep before they landed in the Netherlands.

"Oh, my God, I almost forgot to tell you! I'm an auntie," Julie told her best friend proudly at a little bar later that night. The boys had won their first game 8-1, and Craig had given everyone the okay to go out and celebrate. Julie had convinced Herb to give his permission for her to join them, under the stipulation that she not leave Rob's side. She pulled a polaroid picture out of her purse, showing it to Rob.

"Look, it's little Kevin Steven Gregory. I just got this in the mail before we left. Look at him, Mac! Cyndi and Jim are the Godparents, but I get to be the cool aunt," Jules explained as Rob looked at the picture she held out to him. 

"Aw, Auntie Jules, that's cute," Rizzo said across the table, filling everyone's cup with beer.

"God, I hope no one ever lets you babysit," Jack said, taking a sip of his beer. "No offense, Jules."

Everybody laughed as Julie just flipped Jack off, shaking her head at him.

"Hey, let me out, I'm gonna go to the bathroom," Julie said from her spot in the middle of the circular booth. The boys started to move before Mac looked at her, his expression suspicious. Rob doubted she would try to pull anything bad, but one could never be too sure when dealing with Julia Brooks. 

"I swear, Jules, you better not-"

"Rob! I'm not! I just need to pee," Julie said, obviously annoyed with her friend. The boys let her out and she walked towards the bathroom, still huffing. She really was just going to the bathroom, and she tried not to be offended that Rob would think differently. I mean, she did have a bit of a track record with all of this. She went to the bathroom, giving herself time to calm down. She always had to remind herself that Rob just cared about her, and she needed to not take it so personally. She leaned into the mirror of the bathroom, fixing her lipstick and fluffing her hair, before walking out of the bathroom.

She stopped when she rounded the corner, before a tall, dark-haired man bumped into her, his glass of beer spilling on her. 

"Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry!" He said immediately, his eyes widening.

"It's, uh, it's fine. Really, I'm okay," she replied politely, looking down at her red turtleneck sweater that was soaked in beer. It was a fitted sweater, and now the beer made it stick to her skin. 

"Stay here, let me grab you a napkin," the man disappeared, returning quickly with a stack of napkins and handing them to Julie. She thanked him, using the napkins to try to clean the beer off her top.

"I really am sorry," the guy said again, and Julie finally looked up at him. He was cute, with a nice smile and bright blue eyes. His dark hair had a bit of curl to it, and he was easily six inches taller than her. 

"It's okay. I'm sorry I made you spill your beer," she gave him a half smile, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. Julie knew exactly what she was doing when she gave him a look, and she knew it was working when his eyes widened slightly. She was a master of flirtation. 

"Are you...are you Julie Brooks?" He asked nervously, trying to keep his eyes away from the tight-fitting, wet sweater covering her chest. She laughed quietly, giving him a dazzling smile. While him recognizing her wasn't her plan, she could certainly roll with it.

"You caught me."

"What are you doing in Amsterdam?" 

"I'm here to watch some hockey. My uncle coaches the U.S. Olympic team, they're playing here this week." 

The man chuckled quietly, looking down at the ground before looking at her, a smirk on his face.

"Yeah, I know they are. I'm Ted Lenssen, goaltender for Holland," he said, extending his hand. Julie recognized his name as soon as he said it. She had just watched her boys absolutely annihilate his team. She shook his hand, laughing quietly. 

"You speak English," she stated, surprising herself that it took her this long to notice another English speaker in a Dutch bar. 

"So do you," he teased, making her roll her eyes in mock annoyance. "I'm from Ontario. I moved here to play hockey. Honestly, a lot of the people here speak English, though."

Across the bar, Rizzo noticed that Julie was talking to some guy, and nudged Jack, motioning to the pair on the opposite side of the large room.

"Hey, who is Jules talking to?" Jack said, his lips curling up in disdain. Rob, Jimmy, and Mark turned around in the booth to see what Jack was looking at in so much disgust.

"Looks like she met someone," Mark chuckled, watching along with the rest of the boys as Julie flirted with the man.

"Wait a second...that's Lenssen," Jimmy said, his eyebrows knitted together, looking around the table at the rest of the boys.

"Lenssen-that-we-just-played, Lenssen?" Jack repeated, staring intently at them.

"No, OC, the other Lenssen we know in   
Amsterdam," Rizzo sighed, finishing the beer in his glass. They all stared in disapproval as they watched Julie follow their opponent to a half circle booth, the two of them sitting across from each other as Ted ordered a pitcher of beer.

"What's she doing?" Jimmy asked, looking between the two flirting over beer and his teammates.

"Mac, what should we do?" Jack questioned, ready to interfere.

"Honestly, boys, nothing we can do," he shrugged, sitting back in his seat.

"What do you mean? She's over there with a guy she doesn't even know," Jim pointed out, staring at his teammate in shock.

"I mean, if you go over there right now and tell Julie that she can't sit and have a beer with him, you're gonna piss her off," Mac stated.

"So, what? You're just gonna let her hang out with him all night? With our opponent?" Jack was getting visibly upset, as Jimmy and Rizzo looked at Rob with confusion. They expected him of all people to put a stop to this.

"She's 21 years old, she's an adult, and as far as she goes, this is incredibly tame for her. Look, we can see them, we'll know if they try to leave. We'll just let her hang out with him until it's time to go. If you try to stop her, you'll drive her straight into his arms, and the next time you see her, she'll be at our game wearing his jersey and cheering for Holland. So just let her be, okay?" 

"She's charming his ass off," Mark laughed, watching as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. The boys could see that Lenssen was practically drooling over her. After several minutes, a few more men showed up at their booth, the boys recognizing some of them as Lenssen's teammates. Julie sat among them, reveling in the attention the men were giving her. They all laughed at a story she was telling, Lenssen moving closer to refill her beer. The Americans tried not to stare, but their curiosity was getting the best of them. 

"I'm ready to leave," Jack said bitterly after about half an hour, looking at his teammates. 

"It is getting kinda late," Rizzo agreed, finishing off his drink. 

"I guess we better go get her, then," Jimmy said, though none of them moved. Who was going to be the one to go over there and interrupt what was clearly a wonderful time for Julie? Rob looked over to his best friend, to see one of the men putting a shot of liquor down in front of her.

"Yeah, that's my cue," he sighed, the boys moving to let him up. He walked towards the table right as Julie was downing the shot. 

"Hey, Jules, we're gonna head out," he said, nodding at the men he recognized around her. Julie's face said it all, she was immediately annoyed with him.

"Come on, Mac, let's just stay a little while longer," she pouted at her friend. As usual, Rob was immune to the pouty looks that turned other boys to putty. 

"No, it's late and the boys are ready to go. Johnson's about to go catch us a cab. Sorry to steal her away from you, boys, but we've got to go."

"I can get a cab later," Jules countered, pouring another shot of liquor from the bottle in the middle of the table. 

"Julia, no, you're coming with me, now," Rob said sternly, staring at her. 

"Funny, she didn't mention her boyfriend was here tonight," Ted Lenssen said, sneering at Rob. 

"Stay out of this, Lenssen," Mac snapped, as his teammates came over to back him up, seeing as Julie was giving him an attitude. 

"Jules, Herb is gonna kill us if we go back to the hotel without you. Will you just come with us, please?" Jimmy asked her. She sighed quietly, before looking over at Ted. 

"I guess I better get going, but thanks for a fun night," she said, signaling for the men to move so she could get out of the booth. She followed her boys out of the bar to taxi minivan that was waiting to take them back to their hotel. 

"Sorry to make you leave when you were having fun," Robbie said to her as the two of them climbed into the very back row with Jack. He did feel a little bad about tearing her away. He knew more than anyone that she lived to be social, 

"Its okay," she shrugged. "He was kind of starting to annoy me anyway. He really thinks him and his team are gonna beat you guys when you play them again in a couple of days," she giggled.

"He can think that all he wants, we're not gonna let that happen," Jack said, helping her buckle her seatbelt. Jules wasn't drunk, but she was definitely a little tipsy. The once high tolerance she had built was beginning to go away. 

"Duh, cause my boys are winners," she laughed, throwing an arm around both Rob and Jack, pulling them close to her.


	7. Chapter 7

The next morning, the team was on their way to the ice rink for practice, seeing as they had another game the following night. Julie almost couldn't believe what she was hearing as Herb began to lecture her, his face stern.

"Now, Julia, I swear, if you're not back here in three hours, I'll have more cops after you than you can count," Herb warned his niece, the bus getting closer to the ice rink.

"I swear, I swear I'll be back on time. Thank you, Uncle Herb!" Julie was nearly bouncing with anticipation. She could've screamed she was so elated. 

Her uncle had agreed to let her go explore Amsterdam by herself while the boys practiced. It would be the first time she would be alone--besides sleeping--since the car accident. The minute the bus arrived at the rink, Julie barely took a second to say goodbye to her friends and uncle before she hailed a cab, off to explore the city.

"Don't you think it's a little backwards that Herb's letting her go off her own in a foreign city?" Jack asked Rob as they walked towards the locker room to get ready for practice. 

"Maybe not. Maybe he's just testing her. She probably won't be able to find any ways to get into trouble," Rob reasoned. As soon as he said it, he paused. "Okay, well Jules can find trouble anywhere, but if she gets in trouble, she'll get kicked out of the band, and she knows that," Rob shrugged, as the boys began to get changed.

"Really? They're gonna kick her out?" Jack questioned, stripping off his clothes to put on his practice uniform. 

"Oh yeah, that's the only reason she agreed to leave. She never would've agreed on her own. Believe me, OC, she's been on incredibly good behavior since she's been here, and that's only because her future with them is on the line."

Jack was thoughtful for a moment, wondering if Julie really would hop a flight back to LA given the chance. He shook the thought from his head, getting ready for practice.

Julie listened to the sounds of the city, basking in her glorious freedom, even if it was only for a short while. She had done some shopping and gone through an art gallery. She was enjoying the last half hour before she had to be back at the ice rink, sipping on a coffee at an outdoor cafe. She allowed the September sun to warm her face, pulling her sunglasses down to cover her blue eyes. To her credit, she had remained fairly inconspicuous throughout her morning adventure. Her fame in Amsterdam wasn't nearly what it was in Los Angeles, but she could never be too careful. She happily took in the sights of the colorful city, before a news kiosk across the street caught her eye. Julie stared at it curiously, thinking that one of the pictures looked familiar. She carefully made her way across the street, becoming more and more drawn to the magazine. She groaned internally as she recognized the picture. Of course, it was of her, and she looked awful. She was outside The Troubadour, being led out of the club by Matt, the guy she had met the night of the car wreck. She rushed over to the kiosk, picking up the magazine.

"Can I help you, ma'am?" The kind older man at the kiosk asked her, speaking English with a strong accent. 

"Could you tell me what this says please?" Julie asked, handing the man the magazine. If he recognized that it was Julie on the cover, he didn't say anything. The man skimmed the cover, before flipping it open to the page where the story was, his eyebrows raising as he read.

"The writer of this article seems to think a rock singer has died. Julie Brooks, says she was in a car accident at the end of July and hasn't been seen since," the man explained. Julie's jaw dropped, her mind racing. She dug into her purse, handing the man some money for the magazine before hailing a cab, magazine in tow. Looking down at the magazine in her hands, she realized she did look like absolute hell on wheels. In the photo that graced the cover, she was wearing a tight leather skirt, an Aerosmith t-shirt that she had turned into a crop top, tall heels, and plenty of makeup. You could see in her eyes that she was incredibly high, and her body was skin and bones. She had filled out some since the picture, and she almost couldn't believe she used to be so skinny. She looked incredibly unhealthy. Once the cab arrived in front of the ice rink, she paid and thanked the driver, hopping out quickly when she saw the boys walking towards the bus that would take them back to the hotel. She stopped in front of Rob.

"I'm fucking dead!" She burst, her face distraught. Her regular group of friends had come over to greet her, but stopped dead at her words. They looked at her curiously, before Mac shook his head.

"No, I think you're fine. Herb is still inside going over some paperwork. You're not even late or anything," he pointed out, sounding almost surprised himself. 

"No, Mac, I'm dead!" She repeated, holding up the magazine. The boys blinked at her, looking between the magazine and her. 

"Jules, you're holding a Dutch magazine in front of us like it's supposed to mean something," Jimmy said cautiously. Clearly Julie was going on about something none of them could understand.

"I had someone translate it, and guess what the fuck it says?" She threw her hands up, tossing the magazine to Mac.

"Who translated, your little boyfriend, Lenssen?" Jack snickered, before she gave him a look of death.

"Shut up, Jack, I'm freaking out!" Julie ran her hands through her hair, before reaching into her purse and pulling out a cigarette, lighting it quickly and taking a long drag.

"Jules, just calm down and explain what's going on. And put that thing out," Jimmy told her, looking at the magazine Mac was holding.

"That fucking magazine thinks I'm dead! Word about the car wreck got out and no one has seen me since so they all think I'm fucking dead!" She yelled, taking another long drag. The boys looked among each other, all biting their lips to keep from laughing. It didn't last long, and slowly the boys broke into chuckles

"What the hell are you laughing at?" She was appalled with her friends. She was in crisis mode, and they were laughing at her.

"Jules, who cares if some obscure Dutch magazine thinks you're dead?" Jack asked, shaking his head. She was certainly living up to her drama queen reputation.

"If they think I'm dead, who else thinks I'm dead?" Julie shrieked.

"Well, certainly not us, you're screaming at us over a Dutch magazine," Rizzo grinned at her, taking the magazine from Jimmy.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Jules, but this certainly isn't the best picture I've ever seen of you," Jack couldn't help but chuckle, looking over Rizzo's shoulder at the magazine.

"You guys are killing me!" She finished the rest of her cigarette, lighting another one almost immediately. 

"We're not, but cigarettes and Dutch magazines are," all the boys guffawed at Mark's comment. Julie pulled her sunglasses down onto her face, putting one hand on her hip as she continued to smoke.

"Come on, Jules, it's not so bad," Mac said after calming down his laughter. She just stared at him, taking another drag. He walked closer to her, taking the cigarette out of her hand, throwing it on the ground, and stomping it out. Julie couldn't help but think that boys were purposely testing her patience today. The rest of the boys had loaded the bus, only Mac, Jimmy, Rizzo, Mark and OC were waiting for Julie. They watched their coaches walk out of the arena doors, walking toward the bus. 

"How exactly is it not so bad?" She questioned her best friend, as Mac began to lead her onto the bus. He sat down on a bus seat, pulling her down into the one beside him.

"Who cares what they think? You're alive, your friends and family know you're alive. And honestly, you're doing a lot better than you were a couple months ago. I know it's a weird adjustment for you not to be in the spotlight all the time, but it's really not so bad," Mac tried to reassure his friend, as she now pouted.

"We're sorry for laughing at you, sweetheart," Jack said in his thick Boston accent, popping up over the seat in front of her.

"Yeah, it's just kind of funny to us because we can't imagine what it would be like to have our pictures plastered on a magazine proclaiming our death," Jimmy shrugged, which made Julie grin a little bit.

"It's a first for me, too, but I can't say I'm not a little bit honored," she admitted quietly, before breaking into a big smile, flicking her hair over her shoulder. "I mean, obviously they're missing me in Hollywood."

"Ah, there she is," Rob rolled his eyes, laughing at the vanity his best friend was so plagued with. 

"Yeah, and when you come back, it'll be such a great comeback," Rizzo pointed out from across the bus aisle.

"Unless they think I've been replaced by my own evil twin," Julie reminded him.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Jules, but I think you are the evil twin," Mac sniggered. Julie scoffed at him, raising her sunglasses onto her head. 

"I think you would be hard-pressed to find someone who would refer to me as evil," Julia gave her friend an attitude with her words.

"David Lee Roth," Mac muttered, smirking as the bus pulled out of the parking lot. The boys looked at Julie, curiosity peaking. Rizzo's mouth was even hanging open. Julie glared at her best friend, her face painted with shock. 

"Robert Bruce McClanahan, you were sworn to secrecy!" 

"God, I am dying to know her secrets," Mark laughed, looking over at Rizzo and shaking his head. 

Julie sat out on her hotel balcony that night, overlooking the city, lit up with people. She looked to all the cars passing on the road below, thinking how every person in every one of those cars was living their own life, totally unaware to the young rockstar smoking a cigarette above them.

"How many times do we have to warn you about those damn things, Julia?" 

Julia looked to her right, seeing the balcony door of the room next door was closing behind the voice that had spoken.

"And how did I get so lucky to have the most annoying boy on the team as my neighbor?" Julie asked over to Jack, who was taking a seat on the wicker chair nearest to Julie's balcony. 

"Hey, that's not nice," he complained, shooting Julie a mean look. "Jimmy is not that annoying. He's just in there sleeping." 

She couldn't help but giggle quietly, looking over at the boy just a few feet away from her.

"Why aren't you sleeping?" She asked him, taking a puff of her cigarette.

"Couldn't sleep," he shrugged. "You?"

"I was just enjoying some alone time."

"Well, I'll take that as my cue to leave," Jack said, starting to get up.

"No. No, Jack, that's not what I meant," she said quickly, putting a hand up to stop him. He froze, looking back at her. Jack gave her a bit of a smile, sitting back down in his seat. She allowed for her hand to drop down onto the balcony railing, a little embarrassed at her eagerness. They sat in quiet for a moment, Julia inhaling smoke from the cigarette. Jack watched her blow out the smoke, before allowing his gaze to fall down to her face. Julia was pretty, and everyone knew that. But Jack was busy noticing the little things. There was a small scar going through her right eyebrow, making her eyebrows look slightly uneven. Her hair was messy, especially in the back. When she was sitting in deep thought, she bit her bottom lip, her brows knitting. 

"What are you looking at, O'Callahan?" Julie asked him, ashing her cigarette.

"You. I'm trying to figure you out," he admitted, looking at her with the confident grin that often adorned his attractive face.

"Well, instead of trying to figure it out, you could just ask. Go ahead, ask away."

"How did you get addicted to cocaine?"

Julie almost inhaled her whole cigarette, coughing on the smoke. 

"Damn, you weren't wasting any time," she said, shaking her head, settling into her chair and facing Jack. "I didn't get addicted the first time I did it. Not for a while. I used to get really exhausted on tours, and people just always had coke around. I would do a bump before a show or before a party to keep me awake. I used to never get fucked up by myself. I didn't even buy any coke myself until I was 20. Before that it was always bumming it off other people. All of a sudden, we're going out on our own tour. There was coke everywhere. Everyone did it. And I so did I. One night, it's a party drug, and before you know it, it's all you think about. I couldn't record or perform or write without it. I wouldn't go out to a bar or a party without coke on me."

"How did you just leave to go to Los Angeles?" Jack didn't say anything about her coke story, he was clearly trying to gain all the information he could. 

"I was 16, living with Uncle Herb and Aunt Patti. They knew I wanted to be in a band, I've been singing since I was little. Well, Herb and I got into a pretty big fight one night, and I packed up and left. I went to the Greyhound Station, caught a train to Los Angeles. I took all the money I had, and I worked as a waitress in LA. After a couple weeks, I finally called Uncle Herb. Well, he was livid. They'd been looking all over Minnesota for me, but the police gave up after deciding I had simply run off. Uncle Herb and I eventually made up, but I had already decided I was staying in LA."

"And Stonehead?"

"I met them a couple months into living there. I had been looking for bands to join since I got there. I met a few groups, but it never seemed to work out. Finally I met Jim, Steven, and Tommy. A few weeks later we found Cyndi, and that was that. We worked our asses off in Hollywood, playing any gig we could get. We were spending all of our spare time writing an album, and we finally got signed to a record label. We spent a couple months in the studio recording and perfecting the album. Then Steven Tyler heard of us, asked us to open for them on the Rocks tour, and that was that."

They were both quiet for a minute, as Jack sat taking in her answers. The city was still very much alive below them, but the silence between them seemed overwhelming. They both stared out into the city, not looking to each other.

"Why did you live with Herb and Patti?" Jack finally asked. He finally looked at her, noticing the melancholy look on her face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."

"No, Jack, it's fine. I told you to ask away," she assured him. She took a deep breath before she began. "It used to be me, my mom, and my dad. We lived in Pennsylvania because that's where my mom is from. I guess my parents weren't really planning on me, or even being together long term. They met while my dad was playing college hockey, playing at her college. After he graduated, my dad went to go visit her but my mom got pregnant so he stayed there and they got married. My mom wasn't a bad mom, but it was always kind of obvious she had other life plans that I wrecked with my existence. When I was eight, I woke up one morning and she was just...gone," Julie shrugged. She put her feet up on the railing of the balcony, tilting her head up to look at the sky above her. Before Jack could say anything, she continued. 

"So Dad and I moved back to Saint Paul. He always missed living in Minnesota. But my dad kind of had a drinking problem. He would always make sure I got to school, and he would go to work, but I spent a lot of time with Herb and Patti or with my grandparents because he would be passed out drunk. Herb says he had a drinking problem when he was younger, but I think Mom leaving kind of triggered it because I don't remember him drinking when I was a little girl, unless he hid it that well. I used to get home from school and find him passed out on the couch,so I would call my grandpa or Herb and someone would come pick me up and I would stay the night with them. Sometimes I would stay with them for a couple of days if Dad was going through a particularly rough patch. The weirdest part was the fact that he loved me so much. He was a good dad when he wasn't passed out. He bought me my first guitar, he saved up for it for months. He always supported my dreams. But he just couldn't lay off booze. It was starting to get way worse. He was missing work, and I was basically taking care of him all the time. It was December 6, 1971. I was 13, almost 14. I got home from skating with Mac, and Dad was passed out on the couch, per usual. I threw a couple logs on the fireplace and went into my room. In the middle of the night, I woke up choking on smoke. I barely made it out before the house was entirely up in flames. But my dad....smoke and flames don't wake you up after that much vodka," she said bitterly, her eyes closing.

"I watched the house burn, waiting for him to come out. He never did. The neighbors came outside and brought me into their house. It was so fucking cold that night. Fire marshall said it started as a chimney fire, but the house went up quick. Luckily, I had some clothes and stuff over at Herb and Patti's, and the guest bedroom was practically mine already. That was that."

Jack had no idea what to say. He didn't know what he was expecting her to tell him, but it certainly wasn't that. He only knew one other person who had lost a parent, that being Jimmy, who's mom had passed during Jimmy's junior year of college. 

"I'm sorry, Julia. I wish I knew what to say in situations like this," he said, barely loud enough for her to hear him.

"You don't need to be sorry. It's just life, and it was almost eight years ago," she said matter-of-factly. Jack was almost concerned with how emotionless she seemed to be towards all of this. He didn't know her all that well, but it seemed to Jack as if she was shutting down a little bit as she talked to them.

"I didn't mean to make you get all personal," he told her, not sure how to move forward.

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't already know. And anyway, I think it's my turn to know about you," she said, changing the subject. 

"What do you wanna know, rockstar?"

"What's your full name? Where are you from? Where and when were you born?" 

"I asked you about your coke addiction and family business, and you ask me that? Weak, Brooks. But it's John Joseph O'Callahan. Born on July 24, 1957, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. It's a suburb of Boston. I know how much you love Boston," he grinned at her.

"Hey, I'm becoming a little more tolerant of Bostonians, I think. And John Joseph O'Callahan? You're Irish through and through, huh," she noticed. "Tell me about hockey."

"Hockey? I mean, I've been playing since I was a little kid. I played all through high school and college at BU. I was team captain my last two seasons. I was All-East twice, All-New England, All-America, team MVP twice, Beanpot MVP, NCAA tourney MVP, and I won the Cochrane award twice. I was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks in 77, so I guess that's where I'll go after the games," 

"Are you trying to impress me, OC?" She grinned at him. Julie couldn't help but notice the pride in his voice as he talked. She knew Jack wasn't bragging about his awards, he had earned those. Jack was a hard worker, and he deserved everything he had. 

"Oh, stop," Jack rolled his eyes at her. "Besides, if anyone is impressive here, it's you."

"A 21 year old cocaine addict who's been exiled to Minnesota on account of bad behavior?" Julie chuckled, looking back up at the stars above them.

"Don't do that to yourself. Yeah, you messed up, but you've still done a hell of a lot, Jules. God, I couldn't believe it when I saw you standing in Herb's doorway. I thought I was dreaming."

"Shut up, Jack," she couldn't help but blush, looking away from him. "You should get to bed, you have a game tomorrow."

"You should get to bed, you've got a big day of being alive tomorrow," he laughed, remembering the fit she'd thrown earlier over the magazine. "Oh, and dating Dutch hockey players." 

Julie glared at him, trying not to let a smile creep onto her face.

"You know, everytime I start to think you're not so bad, you remind me what a prick you are," she said, getting up from her chair and walking towards the door to her room. "Goodnight, OC."

"Goodnight, Julsie," Jack grinned at her, heading into his room.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the first of the “throwback” chapters. They’ll be sort of randomly sprinkled throughout, but they’ll always start with the date and location.

_March 24, 1979_   
_Los Angeles_

The multicolored lights hanging from the ceiling swirled like a kaleidoscope. Far away, Julia could hear voices, but she didn't know what they were saying. She was completely enamored by the lights above her, shining like little beacons in the dark. She was unaware of the strand of her own hair that she was absentmindedly playing with. She wasn't aware of much, to be honest. She was aware that the velvet pillows beneath her felt like clouds. She could hear the wind rushing through the trees, and she knew the breeze coming through the open window was bitterly cold against her bare skin. Her eyes felt heavy, but she was painfully in tune to the way the blood rushed through her veins, almost as if it was too much and her body was going to explode any second. She was aware that the lights above her were calling to her, calling her home to them.

"Julia." 

It was the yellow lights. The yellow lights wanted her the most. She giggled quietly, lethargically lifted her hand to them, her pointer finger extended. They seemed to be right above her, yet when she reached out to them, they were miles and miles away.

"Julia."

The red lights were joining the yellow ones now, beckoning her to join them. She wanted to. She wanted to fly up towards them, and twinkle with them all night long.

"Julia Rose Brooks!"

That wasn't a light. No, no, that was Cyndi. It took all the effort Julie could muster to tear her eyes away from the sparkling colors to look at her blurry friend. Cydni was one giant mess of ginger colored curls and a green lace dress. 

"Julia, can you sober up for one second? Robbie is on the phone for you," Cyndi explained. 

Robbie. 

A single thought cut through the mess that was Julie's mind. The NCAA championship game was tonight. Her uncle was coaching, her best friend was playing. Julie took a couple of deep breaths, trying desperately to control her mind. She slowly got up off the blanket-covered floor she was lying on, and lazily made her way passed the bodies littered throughout the living room.

Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. Watch out for the coffee table. Blink; your eyes are dry. Try to sober up. Don't let Robbie know. There's the phone on the counter. Pick it up. 

"Hi, Robbie," Julie said quietly. 

"Jules, we won! We won the championship!" Rob's voice rang through her ears. 

"You won!" Julie repeated back, trying to sound as excited as possible. "Congratulations!"

Julie was excited for him, it was just hard for her to let her emotions bleed through into her voice and demeanor. In her head, she was doing a really great job. 

"Are you going out to celebrate?" She asked, allowing autopilot to take over her body. She was good at that these days. She didn't have to be mentally present to have a conversation with someone. She was sort of proud of that, in a twisted way. 

"Maybe when we get home. I just got back to the hotel room. Some guys are probably going to sneak off to find some bar tonight. What are you doing?" 

"Oh, we had a few people come by."

By a few, she meant Eric Clapton and Patti Boyd--George Harrison's ex-wife, it was complicated for Julia to keep up, Carly Simon, Peter Frampton, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, Debbie Harry, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Chris Stein, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Glenn Frey, Don Henly, and a handful of other people were holed up in the house nestled in the canyon that Julie shared with her bandmates. It was a mix of Hollywood's hottest rockstars, and a mix of Hollywood's hottest drugs. Julia wasn't even quite sure what she was on at the moment. 

"Are you alright? You seem a little out of it?" Robbie questioned, suspicion raising in his voice. 

"I'm alright, Robbie. Just had a few drinks, is all. I'm glad you won. I'm proud of you, Mac."

"Thanks, Jules. I kinda wish you had been there," he admitted solemnly. 

"I do, too. If we weren't leaving for Paris tomorrow, I would've been there in a heartbeat."

"Yeah, I know. Be careful in Paris, okay?" 

"You know me, always careful," Julie laughed. 

"Julie, what are you doing?" Tommy whined, entering the kitchen and leaning his limp body against his friend. She nearly buckled under his weight, before leaning both of them up against the counter.

"Hush, I'm talking to Robbie," Julie told her bandmate, pouting.

"Robbie!" Tommy exclaimed happily. "Did he win the big football game?"

"He plays hockey, dumbass," Julie chastised. 

"Oooh, right, I meant hockey."

Julie could hear Rob chuckle on the phone. 

"Are you and Tommy alright? You're being safe, right? Is anyone there sober?" 

Before Julie could respond, Tommy had taken the phone right out of her hand. 

"Jim is sober because he's a loser," Tommy rolled his eyes. "Robbie, when are you coming to LA? All Jules ever does is complain about missing you."

Julie slowly slid down to the cold tile floor, finally realizing how much pretending to be sober had exhausted her. The minutes that had passed while she talked to him felt like hours. She had no idea what time it was, but it must've been late in Detroit...or was he in Denver...no, she was pretty sure it was Detroit. What did she know, though? She knew she was high. Really, really high. She was just about to slip out of consciousness when she felt someone shaking her shoulder. 

"Say goodbye to Rob, Jules."

She was semi-aware of someone handing her the phone, which she took in her hand and pressed against her ear.

"I'm so proud of you, Robbie. Maybe when school's out you can come visit me," she said hopefully, trying yet again to sound less high than she was. 

"Jules, I gotta tell you something. I'm trying out for the Olympic hockey team."

It took a moment for what he said to register. She knew it was taking suspiciously long for her to answer, but she finally did.

"Robbie, that's amazing. What happens if you make it? What about school?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to miss this opportunity. Promise me something?"

"What's that?"

"If I make it, you'll come to the Olympics and watch."

"I promise if you make it to the Olympics, I'll be there the whole time. I swear, Rob." 

"Thanks, Jules. Have a good night. Please, please be careful."

"I will. Tell Uncle Herb I said congratulations. Love you, Mac."

"Love you, too."

Rob hung up, and Julie let the phone fall to the floor, her head slumping to one side. 

"Why don't we get you to bed?"

Tommy. That was definitely Tommy talking. Tommy was nearly as high as her, how was he going to get her upstairs to her room? 

"I'll sleep here," Julie mumbled, curling up on the cool tile. She barely heard Tommy calling to Jim. The last thing Julie registered was floating up the stairs towards her bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

Julie cheered loudly as her best friend put the puck in the net for Team USA. The boys were playing their last game against Holland, and they were absolutely dominating. Mac had just made the score 11-3, with the U.S. leading. The crowd was, of course, mostly made up of Dutch fans, but Julie was making enough noise for an entire crowd of American fans. Herb couldn't help but grin a little bit every time he heard her screaming from the stands, just a few rows up from the boys' bench. Despite the score, the boys needed a lot of work, but still, Herb was glad they could hear a familiar voice cheering them on. It was pretty clear to Herb, as well as the team, that no one really expected them to do very well in the Olympics. He was trying to use that as motivation to drive the boys, but sometimes it seemed to just drag their spirits down. 

"Your girl sounds nice screaming like that," Lenssen sneered to Mac after he scored. Mac rolled his eyes, not wanting to engage. The goaltender had been trying for the whole game to piss Mac off, mostly using Julie to do it. Unfortunately, that was probably the nicest thing he had said all night. Some of the things he was saying about her were vile, but Rob was trying his best to just focus on playing hockey. He knew it really had very little to do with Julie, and everything to do with the fact that the Americans were going to beat the Dutch again. They were up by eight points, he didn't need to get into it with Lenssen.

"Shut the hell up, Lenssen." 

Rob was surprised to hear the voice of Mark Johnson behind him, efficiently shutting the goaltender up. Apparently Rob hadn't been the only one who was sick of hearing Lenssen running his mouth, but Mark had chosen to do something about it.

When the final buzzer sounded, Julie couldn't help the grin on her face. Not only had her boys won their second game in astounding fashion, but she was reminded how much she loved watching hockey. She had grown up around hockey, and the amount of time she spent watching it only grew once she and her dad moved back to Minnesota. Once she moved to Los Angeles, she rarely kept up with it. She didn't closely follow the NHL, due to the fact that primarily watched whatever team Robbie was playing on or Herb was coaching. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed hockey.

Once the players skated off the ice and most of the stands had cleared, she happily hopped up from her seat, walking down to the tunnel outside the locker rooms to wait for the boys. It was sure to be another fun night with lots of high spirits after another win. They would be leaving Holland the following day to go to Finland, where their winning streak would hopefully continue. After several minutes of waiting, she heard a door open behind her, and she turned around excitedly to greet her boys.

"Hi, Julie," Ted Lenssen said to her, his jaw set. 

"Oh, hi, Ted," she tried to sound friendly, but not too excited. He had just taken a brutal beating. He took notice of the white Team USA jersey she wore tucked into her jeans, recognizing McClanahan's number on the arms. She still managed to look fantastic, filling out her jeans well, her hair falling down in messy waves around her shoulders. The red on her lips matched the piping on the jersey. He wondered how a girl could look so good in a hockey jersey.

"I saw what the papers were saying about you yesterday," he informed her, as Rob, Mark, and Jimmy came bounding out of their locker room, stopping when they saw Lenssen and Julie a few feet away. Rob put a hand up to stop Mark and Jimmy, who had started to go towards their opponent.

"She's tough, she can handle him," Rob muttered to them.

"Eh, it happens. All in the life, I suppose," she shrugged, trying to ignore the bitter tone in his voice. He had been so polite to her the other night, and the boys had beaten him then as well. Maybe he hadn't realized at the time how close she was to all of them. 

"Yeah, ya know, it's too bad you're leaving. We could've given them a real story to write about. Everyone would've known you're alive and well here in Amsterdam," he looked down at her with a smirk on his face, and she suddenly felt very uncomfortable with the boy she had met two nights ago. She could see out of the corner of her eye Mac, Jimmy, and Mark stood outside their locker room, watching the two of them.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" She challenged the man in front of her, her hand coming to rest on her hip in the signature stance she took when angry.

"I'm just saying I've never fucked a rockstar," he said confidently, looking her up and down like she was prey and he was a predator. That was enough for the boys, even Rob, and they all moved forward to get rid of the man who was talking to her so vulgarly, but Julie put a hand up to stop them. She took a few small steps towards the goaltender, a fire blazing in her eyes.

"And I've never fucked a sieve, and I won't start now. Their first two games as a team and you let in a total of 19 goals? God, I'd be way too embarrassed to even show my face if I were you. Let alone talk about fucking girls who are so far out of your league that they're playing a different sport. Anyway, have fun watching my boys win the Olympics, you fucking loser," Julie said, before looking around him to the American boys who were trying not to laugh at her comments. "Are we all going to go celebrate the way you just wrecked this team, or do I have to go by myself?"

With that, Julie turned on her heel and walked towards the doors. Rob followed first behind her, shoulder checking Lenssen as he passed. Lenssen watched her leave, anger clearly painted on his face. 

"Good game, bud," Jimmy said sarcastically as he and Mark followed the two best friends out to the bus. 

"Wait, she said what to him?" Jack laughed that night as Rob retold the story of Julie's run-in with Lenssen after the game.

"I swear, she looked him dead in the eye and said she wouldn't fuck a sieve, then told him to have fun watching us win the Olympics, and ended it by calling him a fucking loser. God, I was so proud," Rob said, grinning from ear to ear. A few of the guys from the team were sitting down at the hotel bar, enjoying a few beers before they went to bed.

"She's feisty," Jack laughed.

"Yeah, she's great," Rob agreed, nodding before taking another sip of his beer. "I'm glad she's back. It's gonna suck when she leaves again." 

"Do you know how long she's staying?" Ralph Cox asked, taking a long drink of his beer.

"No idea. She hasn't said anything, but I doubt she knows, either. I know the band is pretty busy at the moment, with finishing up the album and the bass player's girlfriend just had a baby. For all I know, she might be here till they're ready to go on tour again," Rob shrugged.

"Do you think she'll last that long?" Silky asked with a chuckle. 

"All I know is that she promised me she would be at the Olympics if I was on the team," Rob told them. He thought for a second, frowning. "Although, I'm pretty sure she was high when she promised me that so who knows if she will?"

"I'm sure she'll come. Her uncle is coaching in the Olympics. She has to be there," Bill Baker spoke up. 

"I hope you're right, Baker," Rob shrugged.

The boys hung out for a while, talking about hockey and life in general. Slowly, people started making their way to bed, until it was only Jack and Robbie left. The two former-rivals had never really been alone before, and they tried to ignore the awkward tension in the air. It took a few minutes before Jack finally spoke up.

"Can I ask you something, Rob?" 

"Sure," he shrugged, looking over at his teammate.

"What's the deal with you and Jules?" 

"The deal with us? What do you mean?" Rob questioned, looking at Jack curiously.

"Are you guys...you know?"

Jack scratched the back of his neck, glancing to Rob looked confused.

"Are we what?" 

"Are you guys dating?" 

Rob nearly spit his beer out on the bar, looking over at his teammate like he was crazy. He waited for Jack to start laughing, but Jack only looked at him, waiting for an answer.

"Me and Jules? No, never. She's like my sister," Mac finally told him. Jack gave him a peculiar look. He really didn't know what he was expecting to hear. Jack had never really been able to decipher exactly what their relationship was, but no one else seemed to be concerned with it, making Jack too nervous to ask his teammates. He didn't want any of them to get the wrong idea about his friendship with Julie.

"Really? All the shit you two have been through, and you've never had feelings for each other?"

Rob just looked at Jack, shaking his head. His expression changed slightly, to a more thoughtful one. 

"Well, there was a short time when we were in like middle school that I had a crush on Jules, but some stuff happened that kinda changed her. I wasn't gonna be selfish and try to bring that into it."

"You mean her dad dying?" 

Rob looked over at his teammate, clearly a little surprised.

"You know about her dad," Mac acknowledged more than questioned. Rob had never really been one to spread 

"She told me last night. About both her parents. I wasn't trying to be nosy, but she told me to ask her anything. She kept talking about how she lived with Herb and Patti and I was just kinda curious," Jack admitted, looking down at his beer.

"Don't feel bad about it, OC. I think she needs to talk about it more. She still freaks out if they get brought up without her expecting it. There's a lot she holds in. Julie is like an emotional rollercoaster sometimes."

"She's kind of impossible to understand," Jack stated, sounding a little embarrassed to admit that he didn't know what to think of his new friend. 

"I'll drink to that," Mac nodded, finishing up his beer. "But honestly, Julie has never been one for dating. I don't think she's ever had a boyfriend."

Jack looked at his teammate in disbelief, his eyes almost accusing Mac of lying. He finished his own beer, flagging down the bartender for their bills. 

"What about all those rockstars she's always hanging around? What about David Lee Roth?" 

Mac laughed quietly, shaking his head as both boys got out money to pay their tabs. 

"She's not like that. I think it's because she gets too attached to people. She couldn't handle a one night thing. Julie only lets people in if she thinks it's for the long haul. She must think you two are gonna be pretty good friends," Mac told him, sounding like Jack had achieved something great. To be honest, Jack felt like he had. 

As they made their way back upstairs and to their rooms, both boys were deep in thought. Not that they'd ever say it out loud, but they were glad for their little talk. The two of them had a pretty deep history of not liking each other, but Herb had made them get along for the sake of the team. They'd never admit it, but deep down they knew they were a lot alike.


	10. Chapter 10

"All I'm saying is, if I was in California right now, I wouldn't be this cold," Jules grumbled, wrapping her jacket tighter around herself as they walked to their hotel.

"I think the guy at the restaurant said this is unusually cold for them in September," Mac replied, watching his breath come out white as he spoke.

"Maybe if you had a coat on you wouldn't be so cold," Jimmy pointed out, slipping his coat off and putting it over her shoulders. 

"Thanks, Jimmy. I guess I better do some shopping for some more winter clothes."

"Yeah, we're gonna be dragging you around the world all winter long, and our games are never played on the sandy beaches of Malibu. I hope you survive it, Jules," Jack pointed out to her, nodding with a look of overly-exaggerated fake sympathy.

"Shockingly OC is getting on my last nerve," Julie rolled her eyes. Jack grinned triumphantly.

"God, I'm so good at what I do," he sighed happily.

"You coming to the game tonight, Jules?" Rizzo spoke up.

"Nope, I've got a ton of other things to do here in Lahti, Finland," she said sarcastically. "Of course I'll be there. You need a cheering section, after all." 

"You're always so loud," Ralph laughed, remembering her cheers at their games in Holland. "Like how can you even hold that much air in your lungs?"

"It's almost as if she's a singer or something," Mark rolled his eyes at his teammate.

"Nah, I've heard her sing. She sucks," Jack told the boys seriously.

"Really, OC? Because when we met you told me you saw in 76 and I was good," Jules reminded him. She knew he was just trying to get under her skin, but somehow she continued to fall for it.

"Good? He said you were good? Oh my God, I was wiping the drool off his chin all night," Rizzo piped up, Jack sending him a glare.

"Aw, did OC have a little crush on Jules?" Mark teased him. Jules laughed along with the boys, much to OC's dismay. He liked being the teaser, not the teased.

"Yeah, but only until I spoke to her," Jack countered, sticking his tongue out at her.

"Please, you could barely speak when you met me," Jules smirked, thinking back to his surprised face when he saw her in Herb's doorway. "You know, I think all the traveling is getting to me. I'm exhausted."

"Haven't you been on world tours before?" Jack asked her, looking at her like she was missing something.

"Yeah, OC, and I don't know if you remember this part but I was on cocaine the whole time," she reminded him, laughing. The rest of the boys laughed along with her, and it felt kind of good for Julie to joke about the whole thing. 

They walked through the doors of the hotel, entering the small lobby. They were all surprised to see Herb sitting at a desk in the lobby, going over some paperwork.

"Hi, Uncle Herb," Julie said, approaching his table. 

"Hi, Julia. Oh, I talked to Patti while you were out and she said Michael called the house yesterday and needs to talk to you, so give him a call. Boys, bus leaves for the rink in an hour," he nodded to them all, returning to his paperwork.

"Oh, God, I hope I'm not in trouble," she muttered to Mac as they got on the elevator. 

"Jules, you're always in trouble. Maybe it's just about the album or something," Mac suggested as they all walked towards their rooms. She told the boys she would see them later before going into her room and dialing Michael's number.

"Hello?" Her manager sounded distracted as he answered the phone. She hadn't even thought of the time difference, but after a quick calculation she realized it was early morning in LA.

"It's your favorite delinquent," Jules said, flopping onto her bed. 

"Julia, finally! We were starting to get worried about you. No one has heard from you in like a week."

"Oh, sorry. I've been in Europe and with the time change and hanging out with the guys and going to games I just sort of forgot," she shrugged, wrapping and unwrapping the phone cord around her finger. 

"You're in Europe? And what guys?" 

"Yeah, the hockey team my uncle coaches. You know, Mac and a bunch of the guys from Minnesota are on it. They're playing some games in Holland, Finland, and Norway this month. I got to tag along." 

"I remember you saying your uncle was coaching the team, I just didn't realize you'd get so into it. I'm glad you have stuff going on, though. Oh my God, I have to tell you about the craziest story going around about you," Michael started to chuckle.

"The one about me being dead?" Jules guessed before he could continue.

"You've heard already?"

"Yeah, I read it in a magazine in Amsterdam. I flipped my shit, thank goodness Mac and the boys were there to calm me down," she grinned, remembering the fit she threw. The longer she thought about it, the whole story was kind of funny. 

"So you and Mac are good, then?"

"Yeah, we made up. It's been good to see a lot of the guys from the University of Minnesota. And I've made a couple new friends too. Like Jimmy and Rizzo and Magic and Silky and Coxy and Buzzy and Bah and OC. Well, OC likes to annoy me every chance he gets, but he's still my friend," Julie rambled. Michael was genuinely glad to hear her rambling. She sounded a lot like her old self. 

"Good, I'm glad you're not totally miserable. By the way, Tommy decided he wanted to re-record a few of his parts on a couple songs so the album is gonna be a few weeks later, but it's still coming along pretty nicely."

"We're blessed and cursed with the perfectionists, that's for sure. Listen, I'm getting a headache so I'm gonna try to take a nap before the game tonight. I'll talk to you soon," Jules said, curling up on her bed.

She woke up forty minutes later to a knocking on her door. She rolled over in her bed, realizing she had fallen asleep still wearing her shoes and Jimmy's coat. Her head was throbbing and she suddenly felt very nauseous. 

"Jules? You in there?" She heard Rob outside her door, and groaned as she remembered the boys had a game tonight.

"Yeah, come on in," she said back to him, slowly sitting up on her bed. She heard the door open and Rob walked in, dressed in his sport coat and slacks, what the boys wore to and from games. 

"I was just gonna see if you were ready to go. Are you alright?" He asked, seeing her struggling to sit up. He also noticed the color was drained from her face. 

"I took a nap because I had a headache but I woke up feeling even worse," she told him, before a particularly strong wave of nausea hit her. Rob watched as her eyes widened and she sat up all the way.

"You don't look so good."

"I feel like I'm gonna-"

Julie threw herself out of bed, running into the bathroom and throwing up into the toilet. Rob grabbed a glass off the counter in her room, filling it with water and setting it on the bathroom floor beside her. He waited in the doorway as she threw up. He was trying to be a nice friend, but Rob was really not a fan of puke, or anything messy for that matter.

"Want me to go tell Herb you're not gonna make it to the game?" 

Julie stopped throwing up for the time being, her face now sweaty and flushed red. She nodded to her friend, not making any attempt to move off the bathroom floor. Robbie was gone for less than five minutes, but for Julie it felt like an eternity. Her whole body ached, her head was pounding, and she knew she would certainly be throwing up again later that night. She let herself fall onto the tile floor, enjoying the cold feeling against her face, closing her eyes and trying not to think about how terrible she felt. She heard her hotel room door open again, not even bothering to move. 

"Yeah, you don't look too good, kid," she heard her uncle say as he knelt down beside her. She looked up at him, seeing the team doctor, George Nagobads, (who everyone simply called 'Doc'), Rob, and Jimmy behind him. Doc reached out, putting a hand to her forehead. 

"She definitely has a fever. We need to get her into bed and make sure she has water. She'll be alright, but it's going to be a long night," Doc told her in his thick Latvian accent, as she began to sit up again. Herb helped her stand up, Rob going to her other side as the two of them helped Julie into bed. Jimmy grabbed the glass of water, setting it on her bedside table as Julie lied in bed. Robbie took her shoes off of her, before helping her under the covers. Herb grabbed the little trash can in her room, setting her beside her bed. 

"Jimmy, here, take your coat," she said, shrugging it off and handing it to him.

"Might wanna get that dry-cleaned, Jimmy," her uncle nodded to his player. Jimmy couldn't help but laugh a little. 

"I'll come see you after the game. Feel better, Jules," Rob said, patting her leg under the blanket. Jimmy followed suit, telling her to feel better.

"Good luck," she croaked at the boys, already feeling the desperate need to let sleep take over. Herb pushed some hair off of her face as Doc followed the boys out.

"Feel better, sweetheart. We'll be back in a little while." 

"Jesus, she does look sick as a dog."

"You're lucky she's not awake to hear you say that."

"You think we should wake her up?" 

"I mean, we should at least make sure she doesn't need anything before we go to bed."

"Julie, wake up."

Julie rolled over in bed, pulling the blankets tightly around her. She felt absolutely awful, and she was less than pleased with whoever was trying to bring her out of a calm sleep. 

"Come on, Jules, wake up."

She finally opened her eyes enough to see the boys standing in her room. Rob, Jimmy, Jack, and Mark all looked at her, slight concern on their faces.

"Hm?" Julie hummed, pulling the comforter up to just below her eyes.

"Hey, how ya feelin?" Jack asked her, all four boys keeping a few feet of distance.

"Like hell. I haven't puked this much since I detoxed," she groaned, shivering slightly. 

"Do you need us to go get Doc for you?" Jimmy suggested. She was shivering, pale in the face, and barely keeping her eyes open. Julie seriously considered having them go get Doc. Doc and Herb had known each other since Herb was playing hockey at the U, so Julie had known Doc almost her whole life. There was no one she would've trusted more to take care of her, but honestly, she just wanted to go back to sleep.

"No, I'll be okay," she muttered. "How was the game?"

"We lost 2-1," Mark sighed, looking disappointed along with his teammates.

"Clearly we need you there to cheer us on," Rob said, giving his best friend a half smile. Julie smiled a tiny bit, before remembering the empty glass on her bedside table.

"Can someone get me some more water, please?" 

Jack was the first one to move, taking the empty glass and filling it up with water from the sink. 

"Thanks, OC," she said as he put the glass down.

"Are you gonna be alright overnight?" Jack asked, looking down at the obviously sick girl. He felt a little bad that they had left her alone while they went to the game, but there was really no one that could've stayed with her. 

"Yeah, I'll be okay. I know Herb's room number if I need someone in the middle of the night."

"Well, we're right across the hall," Rob said, gesturing to Mark. "And OC and Jimmy are next to us."

"Thanks, guys. Where is it that we're traveling to tomorrow?"

"Hell if I can pronounce it, but Craig says it's about two hours away. I think we're supposed to leave around noon," Jimmy told her. 

"It's Lappeenranta," Jack said, certainly butchering the pronunciation.

"Are you going to be alright to go with us?" Rob questioned, sitting on her bed beside her. 

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

"I don't know, Julsie, we might have to abandon you here in Lahti," Jack said, sitting down on the other side of her. 

"As always, OC, you're absolutely hilarious," she told him, before feeling the familiar flip-flop of her stomach.

"Move," she told Jack, pushing around him to get to the bathroom. She shut the door behind her as all four boys stood around, trying not to listen to her throwing up. 

"She's been throwing up for hours. How much more could she possibly have in her?" Rob spoke up. 

"There's no way she's getting on a bus for two hours," Mark predicted, plopping down on the second bed in her room. 

"Do you think she'll be alright by herself?" Jack asked again, looking to Rob for an answer.

"Yeah, she'll be okay. I know she seems pretty bad, but she's tougher than we give her credit for," Rob said.

Rob was right. She'd had much worse nights, but the difference was that this time she hadn't done anything to cause it. As Julie wretched into the toilet, she thought about all the nights she had spent puking up liquor and decided that being sick in a foreign country was worse. She hadn't even done anything fun to deserve this. At the very least, she had to admit that she was a little flattered over how concerned the boys seemed to be. When she was done throwing up, she washed her face and mouth before opening the bathroom door to return to bed. The boys all looked at her sympathetically as she crawled under the covers. Mark and Jimmy had made themselves comfortable on the extra bed in her room, as Rob and Jack returned to their spots on either side of her. They stayed for a while, making small talk or talking about hockey. She found comfort in listening to the four of them talk as she dozed back to sleep. 

"Let's get out of here, and let her get some sleep," Rob suggested, looking down at his sleeping best friend. The boys all quietly told her goodnight, before turning the light out and leaving her to try to sleep off her illness. 

The next morning Julia woke up slowly, her body fighting her every move. She had gone several hours without puking, but her stomach still felt sensitive. Her head continued to pound and her muscles felt heavy. She finished the water on her bedside table, slowly making herself get up. She painfully made her way into the bathroom and over to the shower. She turned on the hot water, stripping off the clothes she had been wearing since the morning before. Stepping into the water, she felt her body relax slightly. She certainly didn't feel great, but she was determined to make it to their next game. 

Downstairs, the boys were sitting around a table eating breakfast and discussing the previous night's game. 

"Hey, do you know how Jules is feeling?" Jimmy asked Rob across the table. 

"I quit hearing her throw up around 3 am if that counts for anything," Rammer spoke up, having been in the room next door. 

"I went by her room before I came down here, but she didn't answer when I knocked. She's a pretty heavy sleeper though," Rob told them, not sounding too concerned as he dug into his food. 

"You think she's gonna be able to make the bus trip?" Jack asked, sounding obviously skeptical. 

"She looked pretty bad last night," Jimmy said.

"But she doesn't have much of a choice, does she? No one can stay with her, and we can't leave her here alone," Jack pointed out. Just then, they were distracted by someone walking into the breakfast area. They looked up to see Julie walking into the room. She was still pale, and her eyes had dark circles under them. She wore a hockey sweatshirt and pajama pants, hair still wet from her shower, and she walked slowly towards them. Rob knew instantly that she must still be feeling awful, as Julie was pretty much always put together and wearing makeup. 

"Morning, Jules," a couple of the boys greeted her as she plopped down near the end of the table beside Jack. She smiled weakly at them, reaching for a piece of toast. 

"How ya feeling?" Jack asked her, filling up a glass of water from a pitcher and placing it in front of her. 

"I'm alright," she said, although none of them really believed her. 

When Herb walked in, he was surprised to see Julie seated at the breakfast table, and the boys could tell by the look on her face that he wasn't very pleased to see her there. 

"Julia, you're up," he stated, observing the dry toast and water in front of her.

"Yeah, I'm feeling a lot better," she lied, taking a tiny bite of toast. 

"You sure about that one?" Her uncle asked her, shaking his head at his niece. 

"Of course. What time does the bus leave?" She asked, trying to make herself swallow the bite of food. Herb watched as she forced the food down, washing it down with a sip of water. 

"Stubborn Julia," Herb sighed. "It leaves at noon, we'll see if you can keep your breakfast down until then."

Julie perked up a little bit, staring down her uncle.

"Well, it's not like you can leave me here."

"Relax, Julie, we're not going to leave you here. We just might have to quarantine you on the bus."


	11. Chapter 11

Sure enough, Julia was unable to keep her dry toast breakfast down. She lied across two bus seats, a trash bag in front of her and a blanket thrown over her. She was in the front row, with no one behind or across from her. 

"So, let me ask you something," Rizzo said to Jack as they sat beside each other a few rows back from Julie. Jack turned away from the window, looking to his friend.

"You've hated Mac since 76, you started a fight with him the first day of practice, and now you two are all buddy-buddy."

"That's not a question," Jack pointed out. "And you heard Herb that day at practice. We're a team. I'm hopefully not going anywhere and neither is Herb's golden boy, so we might as well get along." 

"My question is, does any of this have to do with Julie?"

Jack gave Rizzo a funny look.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are you being friendly with Mac because you wanna be friends with Jules?"

Jack rolled his eyes, shaking his head at Rizzo. 

"You're being ridiculous. Mac and I can be friends. Plus, have you met Julie? I think she'd have no problem being my friend even if Mac didn't like it." 

"Yeah, but she values his opinion so maybe you want him to like you so he says good things about you," Rizzo argued.

"You're taking this way out of proportion. Jules and I are friends. Mac and I are friends. We're all just friends," Jack stated, starting to get annoyed with his friend. He meant what he said. He liked Julie, but Jack O'Callahan was never the type to pretend to like someone he didn't, not even for her. Somewhere along the line, he had realized that Rob really wasn't that bad. He didn't think the two of them would ever be the best of friends, but he didn't mind Robbie. 

"Relax, OC, I was just making an observation," Rizzo defended himself. "Jules is cool, and you two seem to be hitting it off." 

Rizzo and Jack had been friends since college, and Rizzo had seen Jack flirt with more girls than he could count. Jack has certainly been known as a ladies' man around Boston University. Rizzo could tell Jack and Jules were genuinely friends. Jack liked to make fun of her and joke around with her, which was different than his usual quick and charming flirting. He seemed to actually care about his friendship with Julie. 

"Yeah, she told me a lot of stuff about her family and LA and stuff. She's a lot different than I expected her to be."

"What, you mean back when you had a crush on her?" Rizzo couldn't help but tease him. After they had gone to see Aerosmith in 76 with a group of their friends, Jack couldn't stop talking about her for a week. Jack's lips were pressed into a thin line as he glared at his friend.

"Back when I had a crush on her, she was Julia Brooks, this big rock star," Jack explained, before shrugging, his face softening a bit. "Now, she's just Jules."

"Ya know, she probably appreciates that. I'm sure she's dealt with her fair share of people only wanting to be her friend because of her fame." 

Before Jack could respond, they heard Julie throwing up again. Although, there wasn't much left in her so it was more like painful dry heaving. Jack looked around the seat to where she was curled up and saw Herb and Doc checking on her. Jack checked his watch. The good news was, they were probably pretty close to the hotel. The bad news was, she had been sick for nearly 24 hours, and Doc had decided if it exceeded 24 hours, Julie was heading to a hospital. When he got on the bus earlier that day, Rob had informed his teammates that they were able to keep her fever from getting above 101, but they couldn't get it to go down. Herb seemed incredibly stressed out. He had been nice to bring Julie along (Of course there was always the constant fatherly instinct over her, and he didn't entirely trust Patti to be able to keep her out of trouble. Especially with the boys gone.). But now with her being sick in a foreign country, he felt bad. He wasn't able to fully take care of her, and he certainly wasn't putting her on a plane alone to go home, plus he still had the team to worry about. 

"Actually, I'm starting to feel a little better," Julie reassured her uncle. He looked at her skeptically, as Mac came up from his seat a few rows behind her. 

"You empty yet, kiddo?" He asked, sitting in the row behind her, looking at his best friend with pity. 

"I think so," she groaned, rolling from her side onto her back. "I just want to get to the hotel and go to sleep."

"We're almost there, Julie, and we'll get you straight to bed. We don't have to be on the road tomorrow, so you can sleep in," Herb promised his niece, patting her shoulder gently. 

Rob couldn't help but smile a little bit. As long as he'd known Julie, Herb had a soft spot for her. Rob wasn't sure if it was because of her parents, but he knew that Julie, Kelly, and Patti were the only ones who were on the receiving end of this soft Herb. Certainly none of his hockey players had ever experienced it.

"Do you want some more water?" Rob offered her his water bottle, seeing as hers was empty. Julie looked at it for a moment, before noticing her dry lips and parched mouth. She nodded, slowly sitting up and taking the bottle from her friend.

"You might wanna pour that into your water bottle, Julie. I don't need Mac getting sick from your germs," Herb instructed her. She poured some of the water into her own bottle, drinking it quickly. 

"Remember when we both got the flu at the same time when we were 15?" Mac reminded her, causing her to grin up at him.

"We sent Julie to stay with you to keep the germs out of our house," Herb chuckled.

"My mom took such good care of us all week," Rob reminisced. 

"I miss your family," she grinned at Rob. "And your mom's chicken noodle soup. I miss your mom a lot." 

"She'll be at some of our games, closer to home. We can always go see her when we get back," Rob suggested.

Julie had spent a lot of her time at the McClanahan household. His mother, Beverly, had been like a mom to Julie, along with her Aunt Patti. His father, Paul, was always kind and welcoming to her. Rob also had a sister, Katherine, who was four years younger than him.

"Does she hate me?" Julie suddenly asked, her tone barely above a whisper. Her eyes bore into Rob's, pressing him for an honest answer.

"What? No, Mom could never hate you," Rob insisted, looking at her sincerely. "You know she loves you like her own daughter, she could never hate you."

Julie nodded, looking away, deep in thought. She sighed quietly, taking another sip of water. Herb returned to his seat, seeing as his niece seemed to be done getting sick for a while.

"She asks about you," Rob offered quietly, seeing his friend didn't quite believe him. "A lot." 

"I should've called her more. I should've called you more," Julie stated. 

"You were busy, Jules. We knew that. You called a lot, honestly. Mom said you always remembered her birthdays, plus Dad and Kathy's. You wrote to me and them." 

"Until I stopped because all I could think of was getting high," Julie said, her voice filled with regret. Mac sighed, moving a piece of hair off her forehead. 

"Hey, don't do this now. That's over. Me, Herb, Patti, the band, everyone is ready to forgive all that and move on. We love you. We just want you to be happy and healthy."

She looked up at him, her eyes glossy with tears.

"I don't know what I'd do with you, Mackey."

He just smiled at his best friend, happy to have her around everyday. He really hadn't realized just how much he had missed her. When she first moved, he was absolutely gutted, but over time he got used to having a long-distance best friend. Now, however, he was already dreading the day she would get on a plane heading back to California. 

Once they arrived at the hotel, Rob helped her get up, and practically carried her off the bus. Mark grabbed her suitcase, as Craig went to go check them into their rooms. As soon as they got the room keys, Rob and Mark took Julie and her stuff up to her room. Rob put Julie down on the bed, filling her water bottle up and placing it by her bed. Mark set her suitcase down as the door opened behind them. 

"Hey, sicky," Jack said, being followed into the room by Jimmy and Rizzo. 

"How ya doin?" Jimmy asked, as they gathered around her bed with Rob and Mark. 

"I feel a lot better, I'm just tired. And cold. Probably gonna miss your game tonight. I'm sorry, guys."

"Wow, that's so selfish," Rizzo rolled his eyes. "You've been throwing up for the last 24 hours and you're going to take a night off from watching us play to rest?"

"I always knew she was a fake fan," Jack said to the boys, shaking his head. 

"Maybe you just need to prove you can win without me" she told them softly, yawning as she climbed under the comforter, ready to drift off into sleep. 

"We'll come see you after the game," Mark promised, although he wasn't sure she even registered it, as her eyes were already closing. She muttered something, but none of them could quite understand her, so they just told her goodbye and left her to sleep. 

The boys were pumped on the bus ride back to the hotel. They had won their game, but more than winning, they felt like they were finally beginning to make--small, but significant--improvements to the way they played together as a team. It was easy to take a bunch of talented athletes and put them together wearing the same jersey, but it was entirely different to be a team. By the time they arrived back at the hotel, their energy level was off the charts. As Jimmy, Jack, Rob, Mark, Silky, and Rizzo made their way back to their rooms, they were discussing going to a bar they had seen not far down the street.

"I'm gonna go check on Jules," Mac declared, walking towards her door. The boys decided to follow him in, and they were surprised to see that Doc and Herb had beat them into the room. Immediately, they noticed that Julie's face had the color back in it, she was sitting up in bed, and her forehead and hair were damp with sweat. She gave the men entering her room a smile.

"Good news is your fever has broken," Doc said. "I think one more good night of sleep and you'll be feeling back to normal."

Julie thanked Doc, as Herb placed a damp washcloth on her head.

"Glad to hear it. We're sick of not having a cheering section," Jimmy grinned at her. Herb and Doc said their goodnights, leaving Julie to talk with her friends. 

"How was the game?" She asked them, settling back down in her bed.

"We won, 4-1," Jack informed her, all the boys looking proud of themselves.

"Good! Are you all off to celebrate?" 

"We saw some bar down the road we might go check out," Rizzo told her, as Mac sat down beside her on her bed, dabbing the washcloth on her forehead.

"Unless you want me to stay here with you," Rob offered, looking down at her. 

"No, no, go have fun. I'm probably just gonna fall back asleep anyway," she insisted, although she looked wide awake for the first time in twenty-four hours. 

"Are you sure, Jules? We don't mind staying and hanging out," Jack told her, sitting on the foot of her bed.

"Seriously, go. I mean it, I'll be just fine here by myself," she assured them. "You heard Doc, I'll be fine by the morning."

"We shouldn't be out late," Rob told her, getting up from beside her as the boys told her that they would see her later, leaving her alone yet again.

Jimmy walked to the room he shared with Jack feeling more than a little melancholy. He had been quiet all day, and Jack felt bad that it had taken him this long to figure out what was wrong with his friend. It was his mother's birthday. Jimmy's mom had passed away a few years earlier from cancer, and it had really taken a toll on Jimmy. Jack, Rizzo, and Dave Silk had been there for him, they had gone to the funeral, but Jimmy was quiet. He didn't talk about her often and when he did, it was never much. As they made it back to their room, Jack decided it was finally time to say something.

"I know it's your mom's birthday, Jimmy. I'm sorry we're not home so you could visit her or anything," Jack said quietly. Jimmy liked to go to the cemetery where his mom was buried to visit. He would sit and talk with her, just update her on life.

"Thanks, Jack," Jimmy looked to his teammate, before looking away. He had to admit Jack's words surprised him. He didn't think anyone else would remember. Not to mention, Jack wasn't typically an emotional guy, not with words anyway.

"I wish I knew what to say. I never do. I didn't know what to say when Jules told me her dad died, either," Jack sighed, going to his suitcase to get some clothes to change into. 

"Julie's dad died?" Jimmy asked, sitting down on his bed and looking up at his teammate. Jack looked to him and nodded, changing into his clothes for the bar.

"Yeah, that's why she lived with Herb and Patti before she went to California, and why she's with them now."

"What about her mom?" 

"Her mom left when she was eight. Her and her dad moved to Saint Paul, and then he died when she was 13," Jack told him. Jimmy was suddenly not feeling like going out to the bar at all. They heard a knock at the door, before Dave Silk and Mark walked in.

"You guys coming?" Silky asked them, clearly ready to go celebrate. 

"You guys go ahead, I'm gonna stay in tonight," Jimmy told them. Jack raised his eyebrows, looking to his friend.

"You sure, Jimmy?" 

Jimmy guaranteed he would be okay, and waited for them to leave. Once they were gone, he wasted no time going down the hall and knocking on Julie's door. 

"Come in," he heard her call. He walked in to find her sitting up in bed, reading a book.

"Hi, Jimmy," she said, but he could tell she was a little surprised to see him. 

"Hey, Julie," he greeted, walking into the room and standing a bit awkwardly at the end of her bed.

"Did you decide not to go out tonight?" She asked, putting her book down and sitting with her legs crossed on the bed. He just shook his head, looking at the ground, clearly distracted by something.

"Do you wanna sit down, Jimmy?" 

He finally looked at her, his blue eyes focused on her. It took a second to register what she said, but he finally sat down on the bed opposite of her.

"Are you alright?" she questioned. She had never seen Jimmy look so solemn.

"Not really," he admitted, giving her a crooked smile. "It's my mom's birthday, and she passed away a few years back. I'm just having a bad day."

She looked at him with sympathy, her heart aching for him and herself a little bit. 

"Did OC tell you about my dad?"

He nodded, staring at his shoes. 

"I thought it might be nice to talk to someone who gets it." 

"I get it. It sucks. It's been nearly eight years since my dad died, and it still hurts."

"That gives me hope," he laughed dryly. "God, she was the best. She loved hockey. She was crazy about it. She loved taking me to practice. It was her dream for me to be on this team. I just wish she was here to see it."

"I'm sure she's proud of you, Jimmy. But that almost makes it harder. You just wish more than anything that they were here to witness you succeeding, being everything they ever hoped you'd be."

"Like sometimes, it's not even worth it because they're not here."

They were quiet for a moment, before he looked at her.

"Do you believe in heaven?"

"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I guess so. It hurts less to think about Dad being somewhere that he can still look down on me and stuff, ya know?"

"Yeah. I mean, I come from that Irish-Catholic Boston household, so my family all believes in that stuff. I'm trying really hard to believe in it. I take comfort in thinking about my mother in heaven."

"How big is your family?" 

"I have 4 brothers and three sisters. What about you?"

"Just me." she shrugged, secretly jealous of Jimmy's large family. 

"That's gotta be hard, with no one to lean on."

"Yeah, it was. Thank goodness for my grandparents and my uncles. And Mac, of course." 

"How did you and Mac become friends?"

"I was the new kid at school when I moved to Saint Paul. It was the middle of the school year. No one was very nice to me for the first couple of weeks. Then Herb took me to the rink to practice my skating one Saturday, and Mac was there. He asked me if I wanted to play one-on-one hockey with him. He beat me. Bad," Julie remembered, a smile on her pretty face. Even Jimmy cracked a smile at that.

"Is any of your family planning on coming to the games?" 

"Hopefully my dad. He took it really hard when my mom died. And then he lost everything. If it wasn't for my mom wanting me to be on this team, I would've signed with Atlanta and been able to help take care of the family. But I couldn't do that to my mom." 

"Well, hopefully I can meet your dad at the games," she said, stretching her arms above her before looking at Jimmy. "Would you be opposed to continuing this conversation as we go find food? There's absolutely nothing in my stomach." 

Jimmy chuckled at her, although he had to admit he was hungry too.

"Are we getting room service?" 

"Oh, my God, we're going out."

"Are you sure you should? You've been sick as hell, maybe we should just stay in."

"Jimmy, I have seen nothing but hotel rooms and a bus for the last twenty-four hours. I might as well be on tour," she laughed, going to her suitcase to find some clothes that weren't pajamas. "We're going out." 

"So tour is not as exciting as it seems?" Jimmy asked as she headed into the bathroom with a pile of clothes in her hands.

"Not in the slightest!" She called from behind the closed door. "It's all interviews and radio shows. Then you get fucked up, do a show, get more fucked up and get to either a hotel or a bus to do it all again the next day. It's cool the first time. After that, it's just exhausting."

"I guess I never really thought of it that way."

"Don't get me wrong," she said, coming out of the bathroom in jeans, a Rolling Stones t-shirt, and a leather jacket. "I'm bitching about it, but I wouldn't change it for the world. I feel lucky everyday. I absolutely love what I do." 

"No, I know what you mean. Like I love playing hockey, but sometimes I wish it was just on a frozen pond with my buddies without all the fanfare. You just wanna do what you love without all the extra bullshit."

As the two of them left her room and eventually the hotel to find a little restaurant, they continued to talk about their families. Jimmy told her all about his brothers and sisters, and growing up in Boston. Jimmy was the oldest, and Julie could tell he felt a strong sense of responsibility towards his siblings. Jules told him about her house in Hollywood, where she lived with her band. 

"Why wouldn't I live with them? They've been my second family for years," she explained when he asked why rockstars would have roommates. 

"Don't you ever get sick of them? You live together, work together, tour together. I'm guessing you all go to the same parties and the same clubs."

"It's not a small house by any means, Jimmy. I have my own room and bathroom. And plenty of places I can escape to if I'm annoyed with everyone," she laughed. "But to be honest with you, I've never really been big on alone time. I like to be around people. I can be alone for a little while, or like when I'm sick, but I think I'd hate to live alone." 

Jimmy pointed out a little restaurant across the street and the two of them made their way over. From the looks of it, it mostly served soup, so they each got a bowl and sat down at a little table in the corner. After a few minutes of quiet eating, Jimmy spoke up again.

"Do you miss them?"

"My parents or my band?"

"Band."

"Terribly," she answered almost immediately.

"And parents?"

She was quiet for a minute, staring out the window. Jimmy thought he saw tears welling up in her eyes.

"Dad, yes. Mom, no. She wasn't much of a mom, anyway," she shrugged. "It makes me sad, though. I wish she had been better. It always made me feel like shit, knowing she didn't want me."

Jimmy really didn't know what to say. They had losing a parent in common, but Jimmy can't say that he ever felt unwanted by his own parent. They quietly ate their soup, as Jimmy watched her, totally lost in her thoughts.

"How long do you think before you'll go back to California?" He asked, pulling her out of her thoughts. 

"I don't know," she told him. "I guess when everyone decides I'm ready to go back. It's weird because I was like 17 years old with basically no supervision, and now at 21, I'm under a lot of supervision. But I guess I need it." 

The two of them laughed, finishing up their meals. They were both quiet as they left, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. It was pretty chilly, but luckily it was a short walk back to the hotel.

"Ya know, Jimmy, this was fun," Julie stated as they neared the hotel. "I'm glad I get to hang out with you guys. You certainly make my exile more bearable."

Jimmy thought to himself about how glad he was that she was there. He hadn't spent much time talking to her, like really getting to know her. She was more down to earth than she came off at first. Plus, Jimmy was grateful that he had someone to talk to about losing a parent. 

"Jimmy! Jules!" 

The two of them turned around to see their friends walking towards them. Rob, Dave, Jack, Rizzo, and Mark were about fifty yards away on the sidewalk. Jimmy and Julie stopped to wait for them, laughing as Jack and Mark got into a race to see who could reach them faster. 

"Yeah! Kiss my ass, OC!" Mark yelled, slowing down in front of Jimmy and Julie, Jack hot on his heels. 

"That was bullshit, you got a head start!" Jack argued. "You're a cheater."

"Like you with bowling, OC?" Julie smirked at her friend. Jack gave her a fake glare. 

"Let's not bring up the past, Julia."

"Whatever, John."

"Well, someone seems to have made a miraculously fast recovery. What are you doing two doing out?" Rob asked as the rest of the boys finally caught up with them. There was a sense of disapproval in his voice, but he decided not to say anything about her being out and about.

"I was starving, so we went out to find food. I'm finally feeling better. Well, I'm still tired but I don't think I'll throw up again."

"You don't think? I swear, Jules, if you ralph on me our friendship is over," Jack informed her. 

"I'll be sure to aim for you then," she grinned as the group made their way into the hotel. "So, how was the bar?" 

"Good. It's fun to watch Silky strike out with girls in another country," Rizzo said, causing all of them except Dave to laugh.

"What are we doing now?" Julie asked, looking to the boys.

"You should probably get to bed. Herb and Doc might kill you if they know you left," Rob said to Julie as they got into the elevator. 

"No, I'm bored. I've done nothing but lie in bed for hours, Rob." 

"You heard Doc. You need one more good night of sleep. Just go to bed, Julia." 

"I would argue with you, but I'm too tired." 

Rob just rolled his eyes and laughed at her, ruffling her hair.


	12. Chapter 12

A little over a week later, Julie sat beside Walter Bush, the team's general manager, at a hockey arena in Oslo, Norway. The boys were playing Norway's national team, and as the game came to an end, it was tied 3-3. The boys just didn't seem to be in the game much tonight. Buzzy had gotten into a bit of a scrap and had gotten tossed out of the game. Julie noticed that her uncle looked absolutely livid. He was the only one, though. The boys seemed to be content with the tied game. The final buzzer sounded, the two teams shook hands before the boys headed back to their bench. Julie watched as Craig stopped them, ushering them back onto the ice. The stands were clearly out quickly, but she hadn't moved.

"The hell are they doing?" Walter muttered beside her. Walter was a large, older man, who seemed to simultaneously have total faith and no faith in Herb Brooks. She watched the boys talking to each other on the ice. Jack took his helmet off, shaking out his wet hair and looking up at her with a sarcastic smile. She couldn't help the grin on her face while looking at him. Just like Rob, Jack was missing a front tooth, and probably more that she couldn't see. Both boys usually wore fake ones except for when they were playing. Most of the boys were missing teeth and had scars on their faces, but none of them had as many scars as Jack. He was a fighter, there was no doubt about that. 

Julie and Walter watched as Herb spoke to his players before they all skated towards the goal line. Craig had a whistle in his hand, and at Herb's nod he blew it, sending the boys down the ice.

"Herbies," Julie sighed. Walter gave her a funny look. "It's what the boys nicknamed this drill. Blue line back, red line back, far blue line back, far red line back. The boys have told me all about them."

The two of them sat quietly, watching as the boys completed a few Herbies. Most of the crowd was gone, merely giving a curious glance to the Americans still on the ice as they vacated. Every couple of rounds of Herbies, Herb would say something either meant to inspire, teach, or scare the boys.

"You think you can win on talent alone?" Herb nearly yelled. "Gentlemen, you don't have enough talent to win on talent alone! Again." 

More Herbies. 

"You think you can come in here and play the Norwegian national team and tie them, and then go to the Olympics and win? You got another thing coming. Again."

More Herbies. 

"When you pull on that jersey, you represent yourself and your teammates. The name on the front is a hell of a lot more important than the one on the back. Get that through your head! Again."

More Herbies. 

Walter had gotten up from his seat, and after watching a few more rounds from the aisle, he told Julie goodbye and left the arena. Julie just sat. She watched the boys, coughing and struggling. She felt awkward sitting by herself, and quietly made her way to stand near Doc and Craig, as the team continued to skate up and down the ice. She could hear them panting. She could tell that Craig was beginning to feel uncomfortable every time Herb made him blow the whistle to send the boys yet again. An older man eventually made his way up to them, speaking quietly with Doc. As the boys skated back to their goal line, Doc made his way across the ice. 

"Herb!"

"What?"

"The rink manager wants to clean the ice and then go home," Doc informed the coach.

"Tell him to leave me the keys, I'll lock up. Again!"

Julie felt awful as her uncle continued to drill the boys. They were exhausted, they had been going at least thirty minutes. They fought on, despite Herb slandering them as he worked them to death. They all gasped for breath, sweat pouring off of them in noticable droplets. 

All of a sudden, the lights shut off. Sticks dropped to the ice, along with players. They seemed to relax, but Julie looked quickly to her uncle. There he stood, hands on his hips, his lips pressed into a firm line. She knew the boys were getting their hopes up falsely. 

"Where you going? Back on the line. Again."

Craig just stared at Herb.

"Send them," Herb commanded. Craig listened.

More Herbies.

Bill Baker fell on the ice, and Julie swore in his eyes she saw him contemplating whether or not it was worth it to get back up. If looks could kill, Verchota would've had Herb six feet under 15 minutes ago. They were all coughing, but Mark Pavelich was coughing the loudest. Jack spit a bit of blood onto the ice. Their heads hung low. Julie was angry as her uncle started to call them out by name, taunting them about quitting. If any of them were quitters, they surely would have skated off this ice an hour ago. She was so focused on the boys, she barely heard Craig confirming with Doc that what was going on was madness. Although he certainly wasn't alone, Rob was the one Julia noticed, down on all fours, retching onto the ice. Still, Herb preached to them. 

"Herb, this has gone on long enough," Doc spoke up as Herb attempted to have Craig send them again.

"Everybody on that line," Herb ordered. 

"Somebody is going to get hurt," Doc protested.

"Everybody on that line!" 

Shaking legs pushed the boys back onto their feet, their breathing labored. Julie wanted to cry for them. She felt a sense of protectiveness towards them, and right now she wanted to yell at her uncle. But Julie knew that angering Herb would only hurt the boys. Craig wouldn't blow the whistle at Herb's signal. He shook his head, looking to the players who were so obviously in need of rest. 

"Craig, blow the whistle," Herb commanded, staring at his assistant coach. Right as Craig finally caved, bringing the whistle to his lips, a voice spoke up.

"Mike Eruzione!" Rizzo called out. All of the heads in the arena turned to him. "Winthrop, Massachusetts."

Julie glanced between Rizzo and her uncle. Rizzo's breath came out in white clouds, sweat pouring from his face. 

"Who do you play for?" Herb asked him. Everybody stood anxiously, waiting for an answer.

"I play for the United States of America," Rizzo called out between heavy breaths. Everyone looked to Herb, awaiting his reaction. Herb remained emotionless as he finally spoke.

"That's all, gentlemen," he turned and walked off the ice, towards the locker room. The boys collapsed onto the ice, reveling in a few precious moments to ease their tired muscles. Most of them were still coughing and gagging, trying to regain control of their breathing. 

"He's crazy," Julie said quietly to Craig and Doc once her uncle was out of sight. They both snorted, looking at her. 

"Tell me you're not just now discovering this," Craig said half-jokingly. The boys slowly got up and made their way to the locker room, Craig and Doc following behind to help them in any way they could. Julie watched them all go, sitting on the bench quietly for a few minutes. She figured they wouldn't be moving too fast anyway. Julie was concerned, not just with the boys but with herself. Watching the boys go through this whole ordeal had made her realize the way she cared for them. Of course she cared about Robbie, but she was more worried about the way she was starting to care for all of them. Jimmy, Rizzo, Jack, Mark, Silky, Buzzy, Verchota, Bah. Just to name a few. This wasn't really part of her plan. She was leaving soon--hopefully-- and she didn't intend to make such strong connections with so many of them. It was just going to make it that much harder when she did finally leave them. 

Julie got up, making her way outside of the arena, and lit a cigarette, standing to the right of the doors. She had nearly finished her cigarette when the door finally opened for the first time. Mark came out, looking as defeated as ever. He barely glanced at her. 

"Craig said the bus driver should be waiting for us," he said, walking towards the parking lot, where the only vehicle left was their charter bus. As they approached, they noticed their bus driver was sleeping in his seat. Mark knocked on the door, startling the man awake. After looking around for a minute, he finally noticed them and opened the door. Mark stepped aside to allow Julie on first.

"I thought you'd never come back," the bus driver said cheerfully in his thick accent.

"Long night," Julie told him, almost trying to warn him of the dreary mood that would be loading onto his bus. She went to the back of the bus, sitting down in a seat by the window. Mark plopped down beside her. 

"I'm sorry, Magic," she said quietly, looking over at her exhausted friend. She brought a hand up, rubbing his shoulder. 

"Not your fault. It's only our fault," he told her, shrugging. A couple more people started to silently load the bus.

"I know he believes in you guys, even if he's a real asshole sometimes," she assured him. Mark looked over at her, after glancing around to make sure no one was around them.

"The other night in Finland, Jules, Herb called me into his hotel room. He basically said this is my team, and they would go as far as I would take them. Do you know how much pressure that is?"

"No," she told him honestly. "But he wouldn't say it if he didn't believe you were up for it. Tonight was rough, but tomorrow's a new day."

"We're here, busting our asses, most of us passed up on NHL opportunities for this. No one believes we have a shot in hell at the Olympics, and our coach is a merciless dictator."

Julie tried to not to laugh at his comparison. They had every right to be mad at Herb. Tonight had gone too far. 

"You're right, totally and completely right. About all of those things. But you also have a shot to make history. What's the worst that could possibly happen? You hold off a year on the NHL, make a bunch of new friends, and go down in history as an Olympic athlete? You're insanely talented, Mark. You're going to go to the NHL, and be damn good when you get there. You just gotta make a pitstop in Lake Placid to show everyone that the United States still kicks ass."

Mark didn't say anything else, but he was asleep with his head leaning on Julia before the whole team was even on the bus. Although they'd never admit it, several of the boys were jealous that Mark had gotten the seat beside Jules, who was sure to have been kind and nurturing, a stark contrast to the treatment they had received from her uncle. Buzzy and Rob didn't dare lean on each other for a nap the way that Mark got to with Julie. 

That night when they finally got back to the hotel, Rob walked inside and to the elevator with an arm around Julie, although it was more for him to put his weight on her than a friendly gesture. She walked with the boys towards their block of rooms, no one speaking. Julie gave all of her discouraged and tired friends a hug and a kiss on the cheek, promising them that it would get better. None of them believed her, but they were grateful for her and her support.

Herb was more than grateful for his niece and her friendship with his team. He knew he was hard on them, but he had to be. He had told them on the day they made the team that he was not going to be their friend. That was what Craig was for, to make sure the team was okay, to get to know them. Now Julia was taking on some of that. He wasn't blind to the way they flocked to her or to the way his niece seemed to thrive around them. Not to mention, they seemed to be entertaining her enough to keep her out of trouble. Herb didn't mind when she went out with them, he knew they all took care of each other. There was significantly less for him to worry about when Julie was under the watchful eye of her best friend and his teammates. He couldn't complain about the way it was working out for everyone, but that night, Julia wasn't the only one left wondering what would happen when she left.


End file.
